LITTLE MEN (2016) – Review

New York City has been the home base and preferred story setting for many talented film makers, from Woody Allen to Noah Baumbach to Spike Lee. Each has given audiences a unique look at this very familiar metropolis. With this new release, another writer/director joins that roster: Ira Sachs. His last film, the charming, heart-breaking family drama LOVE IS STRANGE took us all around the area, and included a major source of conflict and anxiety for those residents, in general, real estate. Characters mulled over many real life concerns of the NYC populace, rent control, leases, tenant rights, landlords. Sach’s new film also delves into this, but it’s also a family drama, this time about two very different families. Real estate connects them initially, but a friendship further joins them. Don’t be misled by the literary title. This is not another adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s 1871 sequel to her classic “Little Women”. No, it’s a very contemporary tale, and two very different 13 year-old boys are at the heart of LITTLE MEN.

As the story unfolds, we encounter half of that duo, Jake Jardine (Theo Taplitz), a shy introverted youngster who is completely focused on his art (drawing frequently inspired by popular fantasy novels), attracting derision from class mates and even faculty. One day he is picked up by the family housekeeper, because his father Brian (Greg Kinnear), a still-struggling stage actor, is arranging funeral services for his recently deceased father. Oh, and Jake’s mother Kathy (Jennifer Ehle) is a busy Manhattan psychologist and the main family bread-winner. The post funeral service reception will be held at the upstairs apartment of the building Grandpa’ Jardine owned in Brooklyn. Downstairs is leased to a seamstress Leonor Calvelli (Paulina Garcia), who runs a dress shop there. The Jardines meet her and her 13 year-old son Tony (Michael Barbieri). He and Jake immediately form a friendship (thanks to a mutual love of video games). Brian, along with sister Audrey (Talia Balsam), inherit the building, and he decides to move his family into dad’s apartment. The two boys become inseparable,during and after school. The outgoing Tony connects with Jake, and they hatch a plan. Near the end of eighth grade they’ll both try to get into the LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Arts (Jake for his drawing skills, and Tony as an actor). But something may derail their plans. The lease agreement for Leonor is nearly up. Brian discovers that his father was charging a very low rental amount for such a valuable retail property, and the area is becoming more popular. He’ll have to increase the rent, more than double it. Brian finally meets with Leonor (after she avoided him), and informs her of the increase. But she will not hear of it, bemoaning soft sales and telling him that Jardine senior considered her and Tony more of a family than Brain. Oh, and senior was ashamed of Brian’s thespian dreams. She insists on staying put and not paying a cent more in rent. Brian is feeling intense pressure from sister Audrey. Will he be forced to evict? And what will happen to the friendship of Tony and Jake? Can it possibly survive their parents’ battle?

This film truly depends on the casting of the two title characters. Happily Mr. Sachs found a pair of young gifted actors more than up to the formidable task. Taplitz captures the distracted look of an intense artist who’s exploding with ideas, but somewhat disconnected with his environment. His head is often “in the clouds”, only landing to interact with his parents. But this new friendship opens Jake up. In Taplitz’s best work in the film, he conveys Jake despair when he learns the truth about the war between the two families, pleading between sobs for a solution. It’s an amazing emotional bomb blast. Fortunately he has an equally talented acting partner in Barbieri as the motor-mouthed Tony. Full of outer confidence, and often unintentionally funny, when he’s hanging with Jake, he reveals his pain over his absentee father. Papa Calvelli is a globe-trotting medic, going to any and all disasters. Tony tells of infrequent visits with him that follow a sad pattern: happy reunion followed by a quick angry spat between spouses, then a hasty exit. All of his bravado acts as a shield, one that we know won’t withstand the harsh disappointments waiting to pummel the gentle soul. He gets a taste of the mean ole’ world when he acts on an infatuation. And we’re shattered for him, wanting to “take the hit”, to lessen the pain. I look forward to the next projects from the superb Taplitz and Barbieri.

Hey, what about the grown-ups? They’re pretty great too, especially screen veteran Kinnear as a most understanding film father. Brian has followed his dream, which may have cost him a relationship with his own father. After the mourners have left, Brian takes out the trash and finally gives himself a chance to weep, in a memorable early scene. Later, we see this gentle man backed into a corner, and forced to be confrontational . Kinnear conveys through his weary eyes, the toll this takes on the actor’s spirit. However it doesn’t damper his unconditional adoration for his son and respect for Jake’s talent. We should all be lucky to have such a nurturing parent in our lives. Now the person that backs Brian into a corner is Leonor, played with passion and a touch of venom by the formidable Garcia. In her initial scenes, she’s passive and accommodating to the Jardines. But when Brian finally confronts her about the lease terms, Leonor throws off the soft “lamb-skin” to reveal a feral beast that goes right for the emotional jugular. She tosses photos off Brian’s father hanging out with her and Tony, images intended to pierce Brian’s heart like a dagger. While most people facing eviction would softly plead, she spews casual cruel jabs at her landlord and his professional (“you’re in ‘The Seagull’? Bet it’s a big hit!”). Garcia is frustrating, exasperating, and unforgettable. Ehle has the less showy role as the always-on-the-go Mama Jardine, but she’s an excellent partner to Kinnear and is a terrific peacemaker when her hubby finally loses his patience when the lads give him “the silent treatment”.Oh, and the always interesting Alfred Molona shows up for a couple of brief scenes as a Calvelli family friend and legal advisor.

 
Ira Sachs has given movie audiences an involving, compelling family drama, thanks in large part to the sensitive, emotionally engaging screenplay he co-wrote with Maurico Zacharias. And as mentioned previously, his guidance of an exceptional cast. The film really captures the first real friendship between two young men, both perhaps yearning for a brother. In one sequence, Sachs follows them as they dash through the streets, one on skates, the other guiding a scooter, just enjoying day, one made better just by having someone to share it. If only that feeling could last, and perhaps survive all the attacks from those aloof adults. At a brisk, but very satisfying 85 minutes, LITTLE MEN is a sweet, charming film fable that will touch the child inside the most jaded audiences.

4.5 Out of 5

LITTLE MEN opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Tivoli Theatre