If we do not transform our pain, we will surely transmit it.

Gosh, what a sweet, tender, heartbreaking film. Thought it started off just a tad too cloying but as it went on it really built up an emotional tenor that kept it anchored to reality.

One of the best teen actors I think I’ve ever seen. She radiates chaos and warmth in equal measure, which feels just perfect for the role. Teen portrayals in movies and TV seem to frequently fall into either overacting or a sort of caricature, and it was refreshing to see some authenticity here. The down-to-earth, unvarnished acting of the whole family really fit well with what the film was trying to do I think.

Dan’s scenes the night of the performance broke me like I knew they would. The mom’s reactions in the audience as well. There’s just something about crying in a mostly-empty movie theater on a Saturday night. Nicole Kidman was not lying.

Feels like it would make a good double feature with Asteroid City. Very dissimilar in form but I feel like they’re tackling similar content. How we approach catharsis through stories, through performance, through artifice. The genuine magic of storytelling.

Really liked that they didn’t go the easy route with the lawsuit too. A lesser film would’ve had this scene of sweeping reconciliation and forgiveness, but that’s not how these deep wounds work, and the script was honest about that. But god when the girlfriend tries to apologize to Dan was another scene that hit me hard.

Goddamn I love Shakespeare. This made me wanna join a community theater.

Came outside to a beautiful sunset sky and pink cotton-candy clouds. Drove down Mound as the streetlights turned on. Saw a pickup with glow-in-the-dark truck nuts. The world is beautiful ❤️