By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Roberto Faenza
Starring: Ellen Burstyn | Lucy Liu | Marcia Gay Harden | Peter Gallagher | Stephen Lang | Toby Regbo
Country: italy
Year: 2012
Running time: 90
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1703125/
Bruce says: “Now here’s a film that is testimony to how international filmmaking has become. Directed by an Italian, bankrolled with Italian and US money, this English language film takes place in New York and stars primarily American actors. Based on the Peter Cameron novel of the same title, the film reportedly is a faithful adaptation.
“The success of the film lies in the talents of its protagonist, the seventeen year old James. Perfectly cast, Toby Regbo has the talent to convey the inner agonies of a teenager who wants to be his own person but is in constant danger of ending up in the hands of others who want mold him into a generic young man who conforms to the current standards of youth. In every scene, Regbo maintains control, even those scenes where his character loses it. He is a joy to watch. He also has the gift of creating a character with whom others can identify. My entire teenage life flashed before me.
“Everyone is concerned about James. Well, let’s say superficially concerned. His mother (Marcia Gay Harden) is a New York gallery owner, a divorcée whose preoccupation is where her next fuck is coming from. Her latest marriage has just collapsed while on her honeymoon. She does worry enough to hire a Life Coach (Lucy Liu.) It takes only seconds to catch on that Life Coach is a euphemism for psychotherapist. James refuses to go back. His father (Peter Gallagher) is fixated on cosmetic surgery, in search of a new look that is more age appropriate for his much younger girlfriend. His sister Alisa (Deborah Ann Woll) is having an affair with one of her professors, a much older married man. John Webster (Gilbert Owuor), the manager of his mother’s gallery seems to be simpatico, that is until James strains that relationship with a practical joke. ‘Is your life a game, James?’ he asks. His grandmother (Ellen Burstyn) is the only person who makes sense. James relates to her because she has the distance of age, a treasure trove of life experience and a shared disdain for James’ mother, her daughter.
“When James gets fired from his summer job at the gallery over the practical joke incident, he caves in and agrees to see the Life Coach. It is through his therapy that we come to understand James and he begins to understand himself in relation to the world. SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU is a straightforward film. Director Roberto Faeza does not dig into a bag of tricks; there are no visual effects, no dazzling cinematography, no crafty editing. Faenza has the sense to know the strength of his performers and he lets his actors tell the story. 4 1/2 cats
“(SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL TO YOU screened at the 2012 Miami International Film Festival.)”