Sara Schieron

The message is nearly as slight as the presentation and just as hard to pin down, but even when tackling something as sharp edged and soft bellied as exclusion Littlerock is not without its pleasures.

Evokes a New York sentimentalist tradition that mixes the edge of golden era Cassavettes with the nostalgia of Woody Allen-all of which owes eternal debt to the western European New Waves and Bergman.

Shutter Island is a bear hug to cinema while it’s also an occasionally tart valentine to genre.

Severe Clear provides a view of the early days of the war and reminds you of all the promotion and idealism that conflict came with.

Its tone is pleasant and its humor, charming.

In short, if you like her, you’ll likely love her after the film, which I suspect is timed to usher in a return world tour.

On one side Lbs. deals with a subject not often handled dramatically and this alone gives it an urgency and a credibility.

The way the film handles relationships has a similarly light but lived in air to it as well.

It’d all be pretty ho-hum weren’t it for some decent chemistry between the leads and the effortless presence of Regina King and Forest Whitaker.

This doc is far from perfect, formally it accomplishes nothing new and has opportunities to go places that could have been massive, but these missed opportunities don’t undermine its other accomplishments. It’s imperfect and still does quite a lot.