"All My Puny Sorrows" is a movie I really, really wanted to like. It features some of my favorite actresses-giving wonderful performances-and certainly means to explore deep, interesting human drama. Unfortunately, this film is a classic example of biting off more than can be chewed both plot-wise and thematically.
For a very basic overview, "All My Puny Sorrows" tells the story of two sisters, their mother, and generational (perhaps inherited) depression. After Elf (Sarah Gadon) fails in a suicide attempt, sister Yoli (Alison Pill) reunites with her-and mother Lottie (Mare Winningham)-in order to figure out exactly what happened and try to get Elf back on the right path.
There are actually a lot of things to like in this setup that my 4-star ranking somewhat belies. The acting is fantastic from the trio of leading ladies, it is shot/constructed in an interesting and engaging fashion, and it always seems important (never boring or pointless). In a sense, it has many of the bones that comprise a great indie film.
The elephant in the room, however, is that plot/theme-wise this movie is all over the place. Is it about sisterhood? Generational depression? Suicide? Mennonite culture? "All My Puny Sorrows" tries to tackle all of those at once and doesn't have the chutzpah to pull it off. So, the entire experience ends up feeling like a series of interesting/compelling ideas that never really lead anywhere because-in a 1:43 runtime-there just isn't enough time for exploration before it is "on to the next topic".
So, "All My Puny Sorrows" is what I'd consider a "really solid, not very good" movie, if that makes any sense. It technically does all the things one would want in a human drama film, but fails to crystalize into a coherent, thematic whole in the end.
For a very basic overview, "All My Puny Sorrows" tells the story of two sisters, their mother, and generational (perhaps inherited) depression. After Elf (Sarah Gadon) fails in a suicide attempt, sister Yoli (Alison Pill) reunites with her-and mother Lottie (Mare Winningham)-in order to figure out exactly what happened and try to get Elf back on the right path.
There are actually a lot of things to like in this setup that my 4-star ranking somewhat belies. The acting is fantastic from the trio of leading ladies, it is shot/constructed in an interesting and engaging fashion, and it always seems important (never boring or pointless). In a sense, it has many of the bones that comprise a great indie film.
The elephant in the room, however, is that plot/theme-wise this movie is all over the place. Is it about sisterhood? Generational depression? Suicide? Mennonite culture? "All My Puny Sorrows" tries to tackle all of those at once and doesn't have the chutzpah to pull it off. So, the entire experience ends up feeling like a series of interesting/compelling ideas that never really lead anywhere because-in a 1:43 runtime-there just isn't enough time for exploration before it is "on to the next topic".
So, "All My Puny Sorrows" is what I'd consider a "really solid, not very good" movie, if that makes any sense. It technically does all the things one would want in a human drama film, but fails to crystalize into a coherent, thematic whole in the end.