Teenaged Allen (James Patrick Gallagher) livesa ratehr miserable life,
caught between his alcoholic mother (Jennifer Scott) and his little sister
Lisa (Jacqueline Scislowski), whom he loves but who he's supposed to take
care of all of the time - which given his age and need to experience new
things is too much to ask ... so eventually, Lisa breaks her arm when he's
away, and once back mom takes him through hell. Allen reacts to all of
this by getting really drunk (and on his mom's booze, too), and he only
gradually realizes he's more and more becoming like her. The only time he
really feels free is jamming on the guitar with his best friend Devin
(Devin Shea) in an abandoned hut by the traintracks, dreaming of the
freedom his music and the tracks might promise ... A very
touching and at the same time very un-saccharine tale about shipping
through the highs and (mostly) lows of growing up, nicely captured by a
appropriately unexcited directorial effort, carried by a great cast, and
accompanied by guitar-driven tunes that definitely carry the tone of the
story but also nicely transmit why Allen is so excited about jamming. Nice
one, really.
|