The most natural feeling there is for a human being is love and attachment to a parent. This has been the driving theme for more literature, television and movies that possible to count. The downside of this feeling is when a parent, for whatever reason they may come up with, abandons a child. This can leave one of the deepest possible emotional scars imaginable. If you want to see examples of films with the ‘coping with the parent that left’ flicks you can pretty much catch them almost any day of the week on the Lifetime network. You can also get one of the latest Indy flicks to his DVD, ‘Sleepwalking’. Actually, given a year or so it is just about certain that this movie will wind up there. While this film is a cut above the movie of the week faire that usually inhabits that network it is about a topic that will not reach a broad audience. It is at times bleak, bordering on dismal. No one will every call a movie about leaving a young child the feel good flick of the summer. What it does have going for it is the honesty that it employs in dealing with such a difficult subject. You have to give proper credit to the cast and crew here for taking on a film that they knew up front would never be a blockbuster smash hit. It is their obvious dedication to this project that shines through. The film is flawed, seriously at times. In a strange way this seems to work since the subject matter is inherently faulty depicting extremely damaged people. This is an example of what the independent art house film should be. It is not targeted towards a large audience to make a tom of cash for the studio. It is a piece of the art of cinema done to satisfy the vision of its creators and participants. As with any good piece of art the goal is to illicit an emotional response from the viewer and contrary to popular opinion that reaction does not always need to be a positive one. There are emotions stirred up here that are uncomfortable; forcing the audience to face them. If you want to be challenged by the films you see then this one is for you.

Providing the screenplay for this movie is Zac Stanford. He has only two other credits to his name so far. First is the teen angst flick ‘The Chumscrubber’ about teen abuse of prescription medication and ‘Marked’ which was concerned with a pregnant teen. Obviously Stanford is used to darker more intense subject matter for his stories. This story focuses on a mother, Joleen, played incredibly well by Charlize Theron, who feels her pre-teen daughter Tara (AnnaSophia Robb) is holding her back. The girl is getting to that uncomfortable age when a single woman would rather not admit to maternity since it would reflect on her own aging. When Joleen’s boyfriend is arrested she finds that she and her daughter have no where to live. With nowhere else to go they go to the home of her Joleen’s younger brother, James (Nick Stahl) to stay with him. He is a simple sort of a man but opens his home to family. When another man catches Joleen’s eye she runs off with him leaving Tara with James. He loses his job in construction and it is only a short time before Tara is sent to a foster home by Children’s Protective Services. For awhile he crashes with his friend Randall (Woody Harrelson) but knows that is no solution. Tara is treated badly at the foster home and runs away to James but since he is unprepared to raise a girl that age by himself they go off to stay with his father (Dennis Hopper). Since he is an abusive man who is the cause of much of the family’s dysfunction this may not be the best idea but James has no other solution.

It may seem that Stanford has written a simplistic story here but there is a lot going on just beneath the surface. Joleen is driven by the need to have a man in her life. She wants to be able to abdicate the responsibilities to a man instead of facing them herself. A man has to provide for food and shelter for her and her daughter. She is annoyed with Tara because she is entering her teen years; the prelude to becoming an adult herself. This digs into Joleen who has to rely on her own femininity to get a man and survive. The concept of doing for herself and her daughter seems to be something that is not considered by Joleen. When her man is arrested she turns to another man, her younger brother to care for them. Then, when another man drifts by and finds her attractive she deserts her daughter to be cared for by him. James has very little to say in the matter since he is not a forceful or decisive person. When we meet their father the pieces begin to fall into place. He is odious and domineering. This domination prevented Joleen from ever thinking of being on her own. She had daddy to take care of her, in a manner of speaking, and now looks for substitutes in her life; each one as basically uncaring as her father. This overwhelming male presence in their childhoods is what also left James damaged and unsure of himself. The characters here are sleepwalking through life; unable to really see anything around them.

This is the first effort for director Bill Maher. You have to hand it to him to start his new career with one of the hardest topics to handle. Previously he was in the visual effects department. He has an eye for how a film should move. His pacing is often erratic reflecting the turmoil in the life of young Tara. A film like this cannot be a smooth presentation. The lives are in flux with no grounding and the way the film is made reinforces this very well. This is also an initial effort for Theron as a producer. Here screen time is less than most of her films. This is a wise move for her. It gives her a chance to spend more time behind the camera instead of putting too much on her plate for one film. She is a beautiful woman who has never been afraid to transform into a plain, over burden character. She gives a brief but honest performance here. Stahl is one of those actors who never seem to get the appreciation he deserves. He was fantastic in the all too short lived series ‘Carinvale’ but most of the film roles he has received were lackluster. He gives one of the best performances ever here. Harrelson is a quirky actor who was perfectly cast for the little role here. Hopper is incredible as the father in this film. He has a power that simmers beneath the surface. Robb is one of the best things coming up on the horizons of film. She has a command of a difficult part that is far beyond her years but not outside the reach of her considerable talent.

The film is released to home theater by Anchor Bay / Starz. They do bring little relatively unknown gems like this to the general public. It is available in both standard DVD and Blu-ray releases. Both have a making of featurette that is well done and worth watching. This is a difficult film to watch because of the subject matter but it is something that you will be glad you did.