The cinematography bumped it up a star, but it seemed like a story that's been done many times before, except the writer and director wanted to make this an artsy version. The slow pacing was a little too much and made me want to fast forward many times. You basically have a good idea of what this story is from the beginning, it just feels like it's taking too long for the actors to confirm it. They could have made this so much more interesting and ominous but chose to go another route and make it the equivalent of a slooooow southern drawl coming from cousin Cletus- the one who got kicked in the head by a mule when he was younger.
Overall, Not worth a watch. There are similar stories out there done much better.
********* Spoilers on just basic plot **********
It's basically about a boy abused by his father, and that he wishes was dead. The boy realizes he can murder his dad and run off with his caretaker, a young man who lives next door and watches after him when the dad is at work. The boy seems to be enamored by his caretaker but you are never sure if he wants him to be his brother, his father figure, or his lover (although they allude to the last one toward the end). I think he just wants to be with someone who shows him kindness and caring and he views as a protector.
The boy kills his dad, the caretaker sets fire to the house to possibly hide evidence and the two go on the run towards the woods where the caretaker had good memories. On the road the boy displays jealousy at a girl taking interest in his caretaker, making his interest in his caretaker more murky. Eventually they end up in the woods and after a session of teaching the boy to shoot, the caretaker shoots in the air thinking he is scaring a bear away but he gets shot and tells the boy to run. It's the cops, who have tracked them down, and the caretaker is killed.
The boy ends up on a work farm, but the police eventually find him and he is asked questions and makes it seem like his caretaker was responsible for everything.He is told the caretaker is dead and he goes in the bathroom and cries showing how much he cared for him. He is taken to the hospital and checked over and we are told there are no signs of sexual abuse. A friend and her mom pick him up to stay with them. The girl likes him but when she makes a move on him he tells her to stop and she alludes to the fact that he was in love with his caretaker and she also knows he wanted to kill his dad. He also reveals to her that he really wants to take care of animals on a farm someday- obviously thinking back about his time on the work farm.
He leaves the girl's house the next day and is hit by a car- going after his metaphor of a cat once again (which he's done several times throughout the movie). Next we see him on the work farm and the man who runs it asks him how his arm is doing so it's now much later after he's healed. Then in flashbacks, we see scenes where he has told his caretaker about his abuse, and the caretaker responds that if he ever sees him abusing him, he would kill him. And it is confirmed that he is the one who killed his dad. He now just has to live with what he's done while he stays on the work farm like he wanted. Unsurprising ending.
Overall, Not worth a watch. There are similar stories out there done much better.
********* Spoilers on just basic plot **********
It's basically about a boy abused by his father, and that he wishes was dead. The boy realizes he can murder his dad and run off with his caretaker, a young man who lives next door and watches after him when the dad is at work. The boy seems to be enamored by his caretaker but you are never sure if he wants him to be his brother, his father figure, or his lover (although they allude to the last one toward the end). I think he just wants to be with someone who shows him kindness and caring and he views as a protector.
The boy kills his dad, the caretaker sets fire to the house to possibly hide evidence and the two go on the run towards the woods where the caretaker had good memories. On the road the boy displays jealousy at a girl taking interest in his caretaker, making his interest in his caretaker more murky. Eventually they end up in the woods and after a session of teaching the boy to shoot, the caretaker shoots in the air thinking he is scaring a bear away but he gets shot and tells the boy to run. It's the cops, who have tracked them down, and the caretaker is killed.
The boy ends up on a work farm, but the police eventually find him and he is asked questions and makes it seem like his caretaker was responsible for everything.He is told the caretaker is dead and he goes in the bathroom and cries showing how much he cared for him. He is taken to the hospital and checked over and we are told there are no signs of sexual abuse. A friend and her mom pick him up to stay with them. The girl likes him but when she makes a move on him he tells her to stop and she alludes to the fact that he was in love with his caretaker and she also knows he wanted to kill his dad. He also reveals to her that he really wants to take care of animals on a farm someday- obviously thinking back about his time on the work farm.
He leaves the girl's house the next day and is hit by a car- going after his metaphor of a cat once again (which he's done several times throughout the movie). Next we see him on the work farm and the man who runs it asks him how his arm is doing so it's now much later after he's healed. Then in flashbacks, we see scenes where he has told his caretaker about his abuse, and the caretaker responds that if he ever sees him abusing him, he would kill him. And it is confirmed that he is the one who killed his dad. He now just has to live with what he's done while he stays on the work farm like he wanted. Unsurprising ending.