By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Julia Dyer
Starring: Cody Linley | John Hawkes | Jonathon McClendon | Lydia MacKay | Molly Parker
Country: united_states
Year: 2013
Running time: 83
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1815998/
Bruce says: “THE PLAYROOM’s sin is one of omission. There is just not enough substance. One scene in particular is revisited time after time. A voiceover is also repetitious. No doubt Julia Dyer believed repetition would reinforce the moment. That is rarely the case; more frequently repetition sends out a signal that there is nothing else to put in its place.
“It’s horrible to love a performance in a film without liking the film all that much. The killer performance in THE PLAYROOM is that of Molly Parker (TRIGGER, MARION BRIDGE, THE FIVE SENSES and WONDERLAND) who pulls out all the stops as a bored alcoholic housewife hell-bent on destroying her family. We first see Donna Cantwell (Parker) from the waist down as she returns home one late afternoon. She has come from the doctor’s office and is quite distraught. Unbeknownst to Donna her daughter Maggie (Olivia Harris) is in the garage losing her virginity. Teen sex is complicated enough without a mother’s unexpected return. Maggie and her boyfriend Ryan (Cody Linley) quickly pull themselves together. Ryan leaves and Maggie goes to greet her mother who is looking in an empty fridge wondering what to fix for dinner. ‘Bacon and eggs with toast,’ she declares. While Donna fixes herself a scotch, Maggie reminds her mother that bacon and eggs is breakfast fare.
“When Martin (John Hawkes) gets home he fixes Donna another drink. Donna fusses over Janie (Alexandra Doke), the goody-two-shoes who is clearly her favorite child. During dinner Martin holds his nightly spelling bee with the kids while Donna asks her older son Christian (Jonathon McClendon) to fix her another drink. Dinner is rushed because Nadia (Lydia Mackay) and Clark (Jonathan Brooks) Knotts are coming over again for bridge. Bridge as it turns out is a euphemism, to the shock of Martin and Nadia. The drinks keep flowing. Echos of WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? linger in the evening air. While the adults misbehave in the living room the children go up to the playroom, their attic retreat. They all climb out on the roof and Christian slips. As Maggie performs damage control she stumbles upon adult secrets she’d rather not know.
“John Hawkes, always reliable, is particularly likable in this role, a distinct departure from the characters he played in HIGHER GROUND, MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE, and WINTER’S BONE. Newcomer Olivia Harris is impressive as the oldest of four children who is forced into a parental role not of her choosing. Reminiscent of THE ICE STORM, THE PLAYROOM lacks its intensity and sense of completeness; the writing just isn’t robust enough for the story it is attempting to tell. 3 cats
“(THE PLAYROOM screened as part of the 2012 Tribeca International film Festival.)”