Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo Movingly Bond in You Can Count on Me

 

           An artful blend of comedy and drama, writer/director Kenneth Lonergan’s telling, touching and funny You Can Count on Me from 2000 beautifully depicts the enduring loyalty between a young single mother, Sammy Prescott and her wayward, vulnerable and well-meaning brother Terry, who returns to their hometown of Scottsville in New York’s Catskill Mountains and tries to gain a fresh start in life while staying with his sister and her young son at the family’s homestead. With depth and taste, Lonergan’s insightful screenplay (expanded from his one-act play This is Our Youth) explores Sammy and Terry’s unbreakable connection as, both alone and together, they face a series of conflicts and misadventures during Terry’s momentous visit, with viewers fostering admiration for the imperfect but richly humane and likable pair as the heartwarming tale unfolds. Anchored by Lonergan’s firm hand and two emotionally resonant star performances by the prodigiously talented Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo that linger with a viewer decades after an initial watch, You Can Count on Me grants audiences the opportunity to experience one of the most compelling and honest looks at the nature of family relationships, and relationships in general, found in the movies.

                In his first directional feature, Lonergan displays a mastery of the film medium, managing to keep a cohesive tone wherein the comic and dramatic elements are evenly and believably balanced, while using the lovely on-location cinematography by Stephen Kazmierski to provide the proper serene verisimilitude for the story. From the outset of the film, wherein with scant dialogue Lonergan shows how tragedy strikes the adolescence Sammy and Terry, then illustrates them coping with the loss before Sammy is show as an adult while Lesley Barber’s melodious, violin-infused score offers a melancholic mood to help set the stage for the rural-based storyline. In addition to his expert work behind the camera, Lonergan is in fine form as Ron, the thoughtful, caring pastor Sammy seeks guidance from at critical junctures in the story. Following You Can, at intervals Lonergan has created other character-oriented works with care and intelligence, including 2016’s Manchester by the Sea, which brought Lonergan a Best Director Academy Award nomination, as well as an Oscar win for his sublime Original Screenplay.

                Laura Linney, in possibly her most impactful role, does a skillful, colorful job of conveying how Sammy’s polite, pleasant exterior serves as a front for her multi-layer persona. As the movie progresses, Linney convincingly discloses the full range of Sammy’s makeup, including her anger, humor, passion and compassion, as Sammy consistently surprises the audience with her willful, spontaneous actions. With much of the film centered around Sammy’s attempts to build a stable environment for her and her son, Linney shows the earnestness involved in Sammy’s actions to be a responsible, upright citizen, while the “wild” side of Sammy that Terry refers to manages to pop up frequently enough to cause a degree of chaos in her life. Linney’s chemistry and interaction with all her costars also helps the role come alive with flair and distinction, most notably in her work with Ruffalo, as together the two actors instill a profound conviction in their scenes that make it clear how strong and meaningful the alliance is between the siblings.

                Firmly establishing himself as a gifted screen actor of the first rank via one of the most persuasive, sensitive breakthrough portrayals in film, Mark Ruffalo brings empathy and clarity to the introverted, complicated Terry, while allowing a degree of mystery to imbue the performance as Terry, similar to but even more so than Sammy, has an unpredictable, fearless streak that often dictates his actions without him thinking things through. Starting his screen career with a 1989 television appearance, Ruffalo would spend ten years making little impact professionally, but build a significant and ultimately fruitful connection with Lonergan while starring Off-Broadway in This is Our Youth in 1996. Clearly gaining the author’s trust and respect for his exceptional acting abilities, Ruffalo was rewarded with his demanding You Can role and creates an indelible, unforgettable anti-hero to rank among filmdom’s most impressive performances. With a thorough investment in the part, Ruffalo renders Terry’s restless nature and sometimes haphazard, immature conduct with focus and purpose, while forming a synchronicity with Linney to make Sammy and Terry one of the most compelling and poignant pair of siblings in cinema, specifically their final scene, wherein the full profundity of their relationship is beautifully stated via Linney and Ruffalo’s heartfelt emoting and Lonergan’s penetrating dialogue. Ruffalo also manages to show Terry’s sometimes impulsive, foolish behavior in a charming, relatable, funny way that the audience can believe, instead of making the character oafish and one-note. Ruffalo has built upon his revelatory work as Terry to gain one of the more substantial and esteemed filmographies, deftly mixing sly work in blockbusters such as his Hulk in The Avengers, with more delicately honed performances in intelligent, smaller-scale offerings, including Academy-Award nominated work in The Kids Are Alright, Foxcatcher and the Best Picture Oscar-winner, Spotlight.

As Brian, Sammy’s uptight, passive-aggressive, frustrated new bank manager boss, Matthew Broderick effectively counters the typical good-guy screen image he set at the outset of his career via fare such as his Tony-winning work in Brighton Beach Memoirs and on film in his Max Dugan Returns debut and the hit War Games, continuing to explore characters with some less admirable traits as he did so skillfully the previous year in Alexander Payne’s terrific dark comedy Election. As Brian develops an unorthodox relationship with Sammy, Broderick subtly details first the inflexible, annoying and controlling facets of the role with great comic gusto, before showing a more understanding side as he and Sammy learn to comingle in a less adversarial manner. Post-You Can, Broderick immediately had his biggest stage success (after winning a second Tony for the revival of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying) in The Producers, and since has alternated between screen and theater work, including a film reunion with Lonergan for Manchester by the Sea.

In an exceptional performance, young Rory Culkin demonstrates thespian skills to match those of his talented brothers Macaulay and Kieran, bringing intuition and naturalness to his enactment of Rudy, Sammy forlorn, observational eight-year-old son. Culkin displays Rudy’s openness and the innocence that finds the boy yearning to meet the father he has idealized in a touching manner, while showing the child’s more knowing mindset during his sometimes-tense relations with his mother and uncle as Ruby is prematurely forced to face some of life’s harsher realities. Among others, Jon Tenney brings a beguiling sweetness to his work as Bob, Sammy’s gentle, reliable suitor, Josh Lucas is appropriately caustic in a brief role as an unhappy figure from Sammy’s past, Gaby Hoffmann adds a nice wistfulness to her early scene as Terry’s doleful girlfriend, J. Smith-Cameron is memorable as Mabel, Sammy’s quirky coworker and Amy Ryan can be glimpsed in the opening moments of the movie as Sammy and Terry’s mother.

                Debuting at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2000, You Can Count on Me was immediately praised by critics and audiences as a sublime example of a perceptive character-driven entertainment, going on to win the Sundance Grand Jury Prize (in a tie with Girlfight) while catching on enough with audiences to gain solid box office returns on a small indie budget. Come awards season, You Can Count on Me would score a wealth of accolades, specifically for Lonergan and Linney, with both gaining awards from The New York Film Critics Circle and National Society of Film Critics for Best Screenplay and Best Actress, respectfully, as well as Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for both, a Writer’s Guild of America prize for Lonergan and, among several other Best Actress awards from critics’ groups, Screen Actors Guild and Independent Spirit nominations for Linney, as well as a Young Artist Award for Culkin. The film placed among The National Board of Review and Broadcast Film Critics Association top ten films, as well as finding a spot on many regional critics’ lists. However, in a move as impenetrable as some aspects of Terry’s impulsive persona, Mark Ruffalo’s amazing contribution to the film somehow was largely left out of the awards conversation, in another illustration of how often these prizes need to be taken with a large dose of skepticism, with a Best Actor nomination from the Independent Spirit Awards, a New Generation Award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (where Lonergan’s screenplay also won) and an actual Best Actor win from the Montreal World Film Festival (thank you, Montreal) responsible for some attention being given to Ruffalo’s unsurpassable efforts as Terry. Time has only emphasized how strongly the many merits of this rare feature endure, and any film lover wanting to be amply rewarded with a subtle but powerful comedy/drama can rely on You Can Count on Me to satisfy their need for a riveting, resounding viewing experience.