This languid ensemble piece, mostly about people's attachment to their old possessions, has some outstanding performances that pay off for those with patience, notably those of Ellen Burstyn, Jon Hamm, and Catherine Keener (last blogged for Wiener-Dog, Marjorie Prime, and Get Out, respectively). Jack called the movie "joyless" and he's not entirely wrong, though I chuckled, thinking of George Carlin's comedy routine about stuff.
Also contributing are John Ortiz (most recently in Going in Style), Bruce Dern (last in these pages for The Hateful Eight), Amber Tamblyn (after I profiled her in 127 Hours she was in Django Unchained, five episodes of Inside Amy Schumer, and more), Nick Offerman (last in The Little Hours), James Le Gros (his best work includes Drugstore Cowboy (1989), Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994), Living in Oblivion (1995) which is one of my all time favorites, The Myth of Fingerprints (1997), Lovely & Amazing (2001), and the 2011 the HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce), and a nice scene with Mikey Madison (she plays Pamela Adlon's eldest daughter in 20 episodes of Better Things) at the very end.
Director Mark Pellington (most recently helmed The Last Word) co-wrote the story with screenwriter Alex Ross Perry (new to me).
I'm glad to say that the haunting score by French composer Laurent Eyquem can be streamed from this youtube playlist.
Critics are hating on this one, averaging only 34% on Rotten Tomatoes, with no audience average published. We weren't sorry we saw it but did make a point of watching a few silly sit-coms later at home.
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