Rudderless (2014)

Director: William H. Macy

Writers: Casey Twenter, Jeff Robinson, William H. Macy

Composer: Eef Barzelay

Starring: Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Laurence Fishburne, Felicity Huffman, Selena Gomez, William H. Macy, Peter Spruyt

More info: IMDb

Plot: A grieving father in a downward spiral stumbles across a box of his recently deceased son's demo tapes and lyrics. Shocked by the discovery of this unknown talent, he forms a band in the hope of finding some catharsis

My rating: 8.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah.

Sundance Film Festival 2014

Wow!  Just wow!!  William H. Macy's directorial debut is an unusual look at the loss of a child and how one father deals with it.  It's difficult to talk about because of the incredible turn of events halfway in that change everything. The performances are stellar, particularly Billy Crudup.  Laurence Fishburne is refreshingly fun for a change.  And the songs are just as much of a character as any of the actors with the final one, "Sing Along", having the most weight and the best hook.  For as good as this was, though, Salena Gomez was the weakest link.  Part of it was her performance and the other was how her character was handled.  She has three brief  scenes; the first (an introduction) but the second two change the direction of the picture and very abruptly.  But then again, maybe it's that she's 18 years old and that's how someone of that age would have all of the emotional tact of throwing a hammer through a plate glass window.  A second viewing might help.  Ugh, I really want to talk more about this but it's a tremendous spoiler that needs to remain silent should you ever see it.  It's a very good, deftly handled film about a difficult subject. Great job, Mr. Macy!