From a bland tract house on the outskirts of Los Angeles, Simon Geist (with occasional help from his platonic girlfriend Darla) Read More »
Tag Archives: Mark Ruffalo
A Fish in the Bathtub (1998) Joan Micklin Silver, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara, Mark Ruffalo
Sam (Jerry Stiller) and Molly (Anne Meara) are a classic bickering old couple Read More »
My Life Without Me (2003) Isabel Coixet, Sarah Polley, Scott Speedman, Mark Ruffalo
Ann, 23 years old, lives a modest life with her two kids and her husband in a trailer in her mother’s garden. Read More »
You Can Count on Me (2000) Kenneth Lonergan, Laura Linney, Matthew Broderick, Mark Ruffalo, Drama
Adult siblings Sammy Prescott and Terry Prescott have had a special bond with each other since they were kids when their parents were tragically killed in a car accident. That bond is why single mom Sammy, who still lives in the family home in Scottsville, upstate New York with her eight year old son Rudy, is excited to hear that Terry, who she has not seen or heard from in a while, is coming home for a visit. That excitement is dampened slightly upon Terry’s arrival, when she learns that he, broke, is only there to borrow money. As adults, Sammy, who works as a lending officer in the local bank, is seen as the responsible sibling, while unfocused Terry is seen as the irresponsible drifter. Regardless, Sammy welcomes what ends up being Terry’s longer than planned visit if only so that he can help take care of Rudy, who has no adult male figure in his life. Rudy has never known his deadbeat biological father, with whom Sammy wants nothing to do. As Terry – acting as the supposed adult …
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We Don’t Live Here Anymore (2004) John Curran, Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause, Drama, Romance
The movie is set in the Pacific Northwest; specifically, Washington state. We know this from a glimpse of a license plate, the craftsman architecture of the two houses, and the mature, rich landscapes in between. The setting, like the scrutiny of the four main character’s lives, is defined by the narrowness of the camera’s field-of view. The one commercial street in town is only seen in the reflection of a store window, a shot of a non-descript auto-yard, or the tunnel of a tree-lined suburban sidewalk. The lush, wooded landscape is understood as an immediate presence in the domestic and professional lives of the characters; a steep hill, railroad tracks, a rushing stream, and a path over an old steel bridge are revisited again and again by the characters in their capacities as lovers, parents and friends.
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