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 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 make 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.
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