Arcadia 2012 | Boys in movies [BiM]

Arcadia (2012)

Arcadia 2012
– 1h 31 min. | Drama | 1 January 2014 (France)

Storyline:

Greta’s dad Tom is moving the family cross-country in a dented station wagon, promising a California paradise to his kids. All that’s missing is Mom.

User review:

A harried dad in New England stuffs his three kids into the station wagon and sets off for Arcadia (not the mythical land of peace and plenty; it’s a suburb of LA), leaving behind a far from empty house, a frantic golden retriever and, presumably, Mom. Dad’s story keeps changing—Mom will be waiting for them when they get there; she’ll join them a few weeks later—and his mood oscillates wildly from long-car-trip goofiness (group singalongs of the “Rawhide” theme) to road-rage hostility. John Hawkes has been specializing for a couple of years in playing the shaky dad or the suspect authority figure, and he doesn’t let us down this time; the storyline focuses on younger daughter Greta, a dreamy, disaffected girl on the cusp of adolescence who misses her dog and still carries around a ratty old stuffed rabbit. Surefooted w/d Olivia Silver shows us this shabby, chaotic new adult world through Greta’s eyes. I wasn’t sure she could sustain the fragile tone all the way through, but the ending, though it leaves unanswered questions, is perfectly satisfying. Veteran child actor Ryan Simpkins gives a fine, subtle performance as Greta. Making Dad a cranky libertarian may seem like pandering at first, but it pays off in a crucial scene later on. Long story short—this is one of those unheralded indie films like “C.O.G.,” “Prince Avalanche” and “The New Year” that’s really worth watching.

Director: Olivia Silver
Writer: Olivia Silver
Stars: Ryan Simpkins, Ty Simpkins, Kendall Toole
Country: USA
Language: English
Release Date: 1 January 2014 (France)
Also Known As: Arkadia.