James White
A coming-of-age story about a young New Yorker struggling to take control of his reckless, self-destructive behavior in the face of momentous family challenges.
Director:
Josh Mond
Cast:
Christopher Abbott, Cynthia Nixon, Scott Mescudi, Ron Livingston, Makenzie Leigh, David Call
Screenplay:
Josh Mond
Screening Date:
Oct 24, 2015
Studio:
BorderLine Films
Running Time:
85 minutes
| Excellent | Very Good | Good | Fair | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.0% | 17.5% | 42.5% | 15.0% | 15.0% |
Painful But dealt in a sensitive and intelligent way.
It's grim.
A difficult film because of the subject matter and a challenging one because of the radical filmmaking style. But both are VERY effective.
Breaks every rule – characters are often heard but not seen such as the grief councilor. If they are not important to James, they are not important to us, and so not worthy of even a quick cut. In fact almost all reaction shots are non-existent.”
So intense… Thanks for selecting this film to screen.
Very depressing…. The relationships were difficult to understand and start of film. Well done, but difficult to recommend. We have enough grief in our lives to go to see this kind of film. Cynthia Nixon was incredible as well as Christopher Abbott.
Well made but sad subject matter.
James White is a troubled kid, but haven’t you wanted to slap someone at a party and say ’Stop Talking!’
I think James will succeed. He knows how to handle the hospital bureaucracy, and as a writer he clearly has plenty of talent to improvise his bathroom Paris tale. Now with this tragedy he will be forced into adulthood and the responsibilities attached.
An amazingly acted intense blur of emotion. Gut wrenching does not begin to explain the intimate complexity. The Paris scene is one of the most touching you will ever see. But will audiences accept the rigid feeling so completely that they will forgive the lack of plot?
Much thanks to Mr. Mond for being our guest. Rarely has a guest been not only that personally revelatory but wonderfully instructive about the filmmaking process. Congrats to a new New York talent, and hope he comes back.
Remarkable filmmaking by any measure. It abandons most of Hollywood’s classic filmmaking style, and re-invents story telling, as grim as this story is.
The theme of a parent dying and how a child explores his or her life is not a new one. The movie was touching, especially the Paris scene but I didn’t get what James learned about himself and how he grew as a person. Essentially I felt that the move was a long exposition without a middle or resolution.
Best scene was in the bathroom. Cynthia Nixon is wonderful. Otherwise I did not enjoy reliving these experiences.
The future of filmmaking is on display here with a radical approach to the essence of human existence – life and death.
Very realistic. Excellent acting. So depressing. So autobiographical.
Josh Mond was an incredible guest. Has anyone ever been this open and revealing about such a personal loss?
Yes, it’s a relatively small independent film, but both Christopher Abbott and Cynthia Nixon are worthy of Academy or any other awards.
The best scene for me was the hospital ER scene. I’ve been there!
A really tough topic. Well executed. Although James is so lost he rallied with great love and courage to take care of his mother. He reinforces that we are multidimensional and although we can fail in some areas we can excel in others.
So painful, but so real, true and connecting. Next I’d like to see Josh do a film that touches on the upper part of his crayon box!
Very realistic. The sound effects were really good--you could hear the footsteps and coughing and it wasn't staged silence.
