Touches You

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This movie paved a new road to a previously unknown art form. Something I've never seen before on screen, or in real life.As many have pointed out - it has sub par acting, poor script writing and looks as if it was directed by a high school media student who gets bad grades. But that's all been done before.There was one thing that this movie had that no other movie before ever had. That is, the art of audible smoking.I've known a lot of smokers over the years, both male and female, young and old. And I've never seen (or should I say heard) any of them smoke the way the lead "actress" of this film does. This audible smoking technique runs throughout the film, but the most notable example is the scene in her brother's kitchen where she is standing in front of the wall phone.There's the loud inhale, a brief pause, and then the louder exhale carefully skewing the mouth sideways so as not to blow smoke at the cameraman.Another example is when the biker enters her room. Once again, the loud inhale, a brief pause and then the louder sideways exhale.I've been on earth for over half a decade. Like I said, I've known a lot of smokers. But I've never seen or heard any of them smoke like this.

Tragic and troubled recovering drug addict and former convict Sherry Swanson (a remarkably brave, touching, and fearless performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal) attempts to get her life back on track and reconnect with her estranged daughter Alexis (a fine and moving portrayal by Ryan Simpkins) after being released from prison. Writer/director Laurie Collyer maintains a tough, gritty, and resolutely unsentimental tone throughout, firmly grounds the seamy story in a plausibly sordid everyday reality, brings a surprising sexual frankness to the edgy material, and wrings plenty of wrenching poignancy in an unforced and organic manner. Moreover, Collyer warrants additional praise for not only handling an upsetting incest subplot with admirable taste and subtlety, but also for not offering any pat answers or simple solutions to the harsh issues addressed in the narrative (indeed, this movie astutely captures the bitter messiness of untidy real life). Gyllenhaal holds the whole picture together with her astonishingly potent and heartbreaking characterization of a deeply flawed, yet still sympathetic protagonist. It's also a definite treat to see Danny Trejo display a rare gentle and sensitive side as basically decent and tender ex-junkie Dean Walker. This movie further benefits from sterling contributions from Brad William Henke as Sherry's caring and supportive brother Bobby, Sam Bottoms as Sherry's loathsome sexually abusive father Bob Sr., Giancarlo Esposito as hard-nosed parole officer Hernandez, and Bridget Barkan as Bobby's disapproving wife Lynette. Russell Lee Fine's no-frills cinematography provides an appropriately naturalistic look. Jack Livesey's spare and obtrusive score likewise does the trick. An absolute powerhouse.

Sherrybaby (2006)An almost literal slice of life, and highly believable. Maggie Gyllenhaal is everything here, and she acts her heart out. Which is to say, she makes her part so convincing in the nuances and lack of glamor (utterly), she becomes the character, Sherry, a former junkie just released from jail. It's a story of her trying to find the dignity and frankly intelligence to cope and to reintegrate. Around her is a fairly ordinary world, and she uses sex and a little pent up anger to wend her way between her parole officers, her sister-in-law, her halfway house roomies, and a new friend or two. Key to all this is Sherry's little girl, who she clearly loves. But she doesn't have a clue how to be a mother.This must be a painfully common story, and the one drawback is the events float in their slice-of-life as if that's sufficient. It is convincing, but by halfway through it starts to become clear that there is, in fact, no "story" at all. It's just going to be the meandering of this young woman, barely dressed in every scene, never seeing herself for how other people see her, in one big heartbreak. It has an ending, a kind of denouement, but it's very slight. So, this is easy to recommend: try the first ten minutes. If you like getting absorbed, and don't mind that getting absorbed is the only point, then go for it. Gyllenhaal is a wonder, and the cast around her is right on. Director Laurie Collyer is someone to watch. When she gets more cinematically narrative and transforming material, she might pull off a more lasting masterpiece. This is her first full-fledged film (after a well-regarded HBO movie), and it's very smartly made.

Sherry Swanson is on probation having served 3 years for theft to pay for her heroin habit. While in prison she has cleaned up and taken various self-improvement courses. Now all she wants is to be reunited with her small daughter who has been looked after by her brother and his wife while she has been inside. But life outside is not as easy as she hoped it would be.Sherry's progress is always interesting, though somewhat depressing - you can see that she is a fundamentally decent person, but her history as a heroin addict and jailbird means that no-one, including her family, fully trusts her. You spend the film hoping that she will find a successful route through the many, many difficulties which face her (including the ever present possibility of slipping back into old ways) while, at the same time, thinking that a glib Hollywood happy ending would be a betrayal of the gritty integrity of this story. It is to the film's credit that it avoids both of these alternatives.While the supporting cast are all very good, this is Maggie Gyllenhaal's film - she delivers a wholly credible Sherry, flawed but fighting not only what everyone else throws at her, but herself too.And it's worth mentioning Danny Trejo - playing against type, but truer to his real-life persona.A challenging but worthwhile film.