I am a huge fan of Sean Penn and love most of the movies he's done including his directing of
into the wild and Indian Runner which were fantastic. So it's quite obvious he knows how to direct and even write and of course is a phenomenal actor
However this true story is completely all over the place, and is depressing, pathetic, and unfocused And it really has very few redeemable qualities except that Sean plays a complete loser that remains a consistent scam artist to his family and esp to his kids and daughter.
Unlike a similar true story like Blow where it shows some of the excitement of his success as a con artist/drug dealer and made the character interesting this story lacks any substance at all (supposedly he was a huge counterfeit thief), but you never see anything about his feats - and instead the whole movie focuses on this dysfunctional family that stays consistently dysfunctional through out the entire dull boring over dramatic entire film until the last 10 minutes.
It primarily is a depressing coming of age film about the daughter which really does not hold enough ground on its own to carry the entire film. Kudos to Penns daughter Dylan as she does have the acting chops but this time Sean Penn could not create enough of a vibrant diverse character arc with the main character to make one feel compelled to enjoy the journey.
It's really a pathetic clumsy journey and ends just as a cliche. One is almost happy to see this loser blow his brains out at the end - and that would have been a great start to the film. And then focus on the daughter who makes herself into a journalist but that's not enough to make a 2 hour film.
So many obvious flaws with the distorted flashbacks and endless close ups with melodramatic music video music shots that works with Into the Wild but here it's like chalk on a blackboard as the story meanders all over the place never really putting the pieces together in a cohesive or clear manner to make the film work as a whole.
It is by far the worst film that Sean Penn has created and it's sad that he dragged his daughter into it because she definitely deserves a better film to show case her raw talent.
Better luck next time 3 stars for Dylan Penn.
However this true story is completely all over the place, and is depressing, pathetic, and unfocused And it really has very few redeemable qualities except that Sean plays a complete loser that remains a consistent scam artist to his family and esp to his kids and daughter.
Unlike a similar true story like Blow where it shows some of the excitement of his success as a con artist/drug dealer and made the character interesting this story lacks any substance at all (supposedly he was a huge counterfeit thief), but you never see anything about his feats - and instead the whole movie focuses on this dysfunctional family that stays consistently dysfunctional through out the entire dull boring over dramatic entire film until the last 10 minutes.
It primarily is a depressing coming of age film about the daughter which really does not hold enough ground on its own to carry the entire film. Kudos to Penns daughter Dylan as she does have the acting chops but this time Sean Penn could not create enough of a vibrant diverse character arc with the main character to make one feel compelled to enjoy the journey.
It's really a pathetic clumsy journey and ends just as a cliche. One is almost happy to see this loser blow his brains out at the end - and that would have been a great start to the film. And then focus on the daughter who makes herself into a journalist but that's not enough to make a 2 hour film.
So many obvious flaws with the distorted flashbacks and endless close ups with melodramatic music video music shots that works with Into the Wild but here it's like chalk on a blackboard as the story meanders all over the place never really putting the pieces together in a cohesive or clear manner to make the film work as a whole.
It is by far the worst film that Sean Penn has created and it's sad that he dragged his daughter into it because she definitely deserves a better film to show case her raw talent.
Better luck next time 3 stars for Dylan Penn.