One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Admirable film.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

I am astounded at the fawning praise this insubstantial movie has garnered. It was apparently an "expansion" of a short film made by the director some years earlier; all I can say is that he can't have added much plot, character development or action, for this film has little if any of those things.Don't get me wrong, I enjoy nicely crafted films which explore the human condition, but this isn't one of those. Nothing of much substance happens. It may have been an excellent short movie; it should have stayed one.

this film is about a boy who is brought up in isolation with his mother which he was very close to, and his father whom he looked up to but never got the same response in affection as he did with his mother. thus creating an imbalance in the emotional side in Duncan.as children we always emulate our (loving)parents. and as children we learn 95% FROM WHAT WE SEE AS WE DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PARENTS OR ADULT WANTS when they speak. its amazing how that point is never brought up.so when Dun can's mother died so did the emotional security that instinctive feeling of nothing can go wrong.Duncan tries his father but fails to get the response.AND LIKE WE ALWAYS DO AS HUMANS, WHEN WE FAIL WITH THE FAMILY WE TRY TO GET IT FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE FROM AND WHAT PRICE WE PAY, AS LONG AS WE GET THAT EMOTIONAL FIX, THAT SECURITY BLANKET THAT FEELING. DUNCAN'S journey manifested into a homosexual experience because of the refusal of the father. Duncan didn't have a problem with his mother, he churned the affection of his father and if it meant that Duncan would make himself to be like his mother to get it he will. and he did. the end of the movie Duncan gets what he wanted. the affection of his father.

I don't write a lot of reviews, but every once and a while a film will get stuck in my head, and writing about it is the only thing that seems to dislodge it from my daily thoughts. I really liked this film even though I found it disturbing, and hard to watch. Sometimes things are a little to real. This may be a fictional story, but it is something that could be, and that makes all the difference in an age of media that can produce anything. My worry for the main character,Duncan Mudge (played by Emile Hirsch),was palpable through the whole film. His interaction with Perry Foley (played by Tom Guiry) was tense and destined for disaster from the beginning. Both actors played great roles, but Hirsch's portrayal of Mudge was done especially well. It reminds me of DiCaprio's portrayal of Arnie Grape. I can't think of anything else off the top of my head to compare it to. A lot of people play misfits convincingly, but occasionally you will find a character like Duncan who really sticks out. I cannot give the credit entirely to the actors in this film. It would not be fair to ignore the writing and directing that the characters are dependent on for their existence. Michael Burke obviously had a vision in his head that he was able to carry from the writing to the screen as both the writer and director. He did a wonderful job creating a movie that made me uncomfortable as hell from beginning to end.

I will not give any vote for a film that treats animals in such a horrific way. Michael Burke, the writer and director, must have some warped sense of theatre. He brings animal cruelty into fold in such a heartbreaking way, I found myself screaming at the movie. I love animals and dislike very much these cheap writers who think they can make a point by torturing and tormenting animals.The kid was looney and the father was an ass. The boy friend a closet queen and the only normal one was the boy's pet, a chicken, who of course, this writer feels should be destroyed in such an unfeeling way without consequences.I like Richard Jenkins, but not in this. And the kid, played by Emile Hirsch was ineffective in the role. The boy friend, Tom Guiry, was another lost soul. Actors were adequate. Scenery depressing, story super horrendous, direction masochistic and over all a waste of the viewer's time.