This movie is ostensibly about two brothers dealing with life as unwanted orphans who have grown up without direction and with nothing more than a heavy reliance on each other. Really, this is a retelling of Of Mice and Men in more modern times and in various motel rooms. This was written by two brothers about two brothers, but I can't say I was interested enough with the movie to see if it was at least somewhat autobiographical. It was listed in IMDB as a mystery, and why they would categorize it as a mystery is the only mystery about it.
Emile Hirsch is the brother that this movie is really about. He's the one that the audience is intended to relate to - he's George from Of Mice and Men. He's more cerebral than his brother, and he takes a wide view of things while still dealing with day to day tragedies. The brothers have never really had a good grasp on building a stable environment for themselves, so they bounce from place to place, staying in motels and scraping by.
Stephen Dorff plays this movie's equivalent of Lenny. He's the big, dumb guy who gets into trouble because he's not smart enough to get out of it and panics at the slightest provocation. Inevitably, he causes an issue that his brother has to plan their way out of, and he is generally a drag on their resources. However, brotherly love results in Emile constantly adjusting his life to fix his brother's mistakes and trying to find ways out of sticky situations.
Dakota Fanning is 20 now. When did that happen? I still remember her as the precocious little girl who was a little annoying with the way she had embraced the Hollywood lifestyle and the extreme liberal agenda of its occupants that she didn't really understand. Well, I saw her acting in this film, and I have no idea if she became a better actor than she was when she was little. Her character was very milquetoast, and she consequently didn't have to do much more than look sheepish.
Direction was okay
Story was muddled
Acting was good
Dialog was simple
Cinematography was okay
2.5/5