If you live in Washington State, you'll immediately recognize that this isn't the Washington State you live in . . . it seems more like a New Yorker's fantasy of what it must be like to live in small town Washington State (where I actually do live in small town).Our town is racially and culturally diverse, not the White suburbia depicted here. That big departure from reality (as well as the fact that the film appears to be filmed in and commenting on life in all white New York suburb) just undercut the movie for me.

It tackles topics such as coming of age, sexual exploration, race and class. The acting was pretty good. Had some good cinematic shots and you definitely see the characters develop. The film did have me on my toes at times but there was always some light humour to release the tension. I love how subtle yet impactful some of the moments of emotion were in the film. From the silence, to the cut to black screen with some dialogue still going on. Interesting film to watch. However I do feel that it had the potential to deliver much more. Was missing something, not sure what.

This a movie that is let's you into the life of a family moving from New York to a small town in Rome, Washington. It reminds me of the films by Ira Sachs (Love is Strange, Little Men) and I say that as the highest compliment. My favorite part of the movie is the family the movie chronicles and how easily it is to be taken by them. I found myself wanting the movie to be a television show as they create a flawed but beautiful family dynamic that deals with real issues (sometimes not in the best way as what happens in stressful situations). The story itself has elements of big city to small town, racism, the awkwardness of fitting in, and issues with parenting, all dealt with grace (the acting is particularly wonderful by Melanie Lynskey and Nelson Ellis). It'll be hard to peg this film into a certain genre but that's what makes it so wonderful and worth watching. Highly recommend viewing it as it's a magnificently acted, well-crafted story.

There's nothing particularly wrong with the characters in this film, and the actors portraying them seem to do a good job. There are some thought provoking moments, but overall I found this to be quite a mundane movie. It lacked significant; excitement or action or drama or intrigue or suspense; to engage the viewer.Maybe it would be more interesting for those who can relate to the story-line, but that's not me, so I cannot comment from that perspective. Or it might appeal to art house film goers.Ever the optimist, I watched it to the end, but could have easily fallen asleep as my initial interest waned after about 20 or 30 minutes in.