Just watched on Netflix... strong start, weak ending
No big spoilers...
Based on the cast and a recognizable director I watched this on Netflix. Over on IMDB, many of the amateur reviewers heap praise on this movie.
It was... okay.
I say that because it's really two movies grafted together. One is a dramedy about a boy genius who takes care of his loving but struggling mom, and his kid brother who worships him. This movie is fine. It takes place in some small American town of the sort you might see in a Steven Spielberg movie. Lush fall scenery, a picturesque waterfall, a quaint downtown core and lots and lots of mostly white people, none of whom smoke or swear except for the token comic relief sidekick. The characters are quirky, or charming, or both. The cast is endearing and competent. At 50, Naomi Watts is refreshing for her noticeable lack of obvious plastic surgery or botox and seems very comfortable in her skin. Veteran character actor Dean Norris is once again playing a lawman -- albeit a more subdued one than he normally plays.
The other movie is some sort of weird suspense/ crime drama with a big slice of fantasy thrown into the mix. It starts about two thirds in and this is where the movie comes apart. Without giving too much away, Naomi Watts' suburban mom morphs into a black-clad would-be stone cold assassin for reasons which are nebulous. I say nebulous because, although it's meant to be a rescue mission of sorts, we never see any definitive proof -- or even implied proof -- that the person being rescued is in danger. Any proof is so oblique that you might think it was all going to turn out as a big case of misunderstanding.
Mom's son, Henry, has left her the book of the title and cassette tapes which reveal detained plans for her to carry out the rescue mission. The fantasy comes in because the son was such a genius that he was able to anticipate his mom's every thought of doubt... every physical mistake... she would make right down to the exact second, and correct them as they came up. At this point, I started to think she was hearing all of these accusations and plans in her head but, nope, it seems the kid was WAAAY smarter than I would have thought possible.
Lots of other sloppy script-writing occurs beyond what I'm describing here. In the end, I had a hard time getting into this second plot to the detriment of the entire movie.