Romulus, My Father

For all its sad moments, Romulus, My Father is a love story between father and son kept aloft by unalloyed admiration.

The film succeeds on the strength of the boy, and the remarkable young actor who plays him, Kodi Smit-McPhee.

This is a workmanlike motion picture with solid performances. It's just that the superior production values are used in service of a mediocre storyline.

Warmly felt but haltingly told meller Romulus, My Father holds the attention with fine perfs and exquisite lensing, but never really grips the imagination.

The performances are the best part of this uneven film.

Admirably unsentimental about the ravages of poverty and mental illness on the foundations of family. But soon the endless succession of heartaches that visit Gaita's brood -- including multiple suicide attempts and romantic betrayals -- becomes monotonous and unbearable, the cinematic equivalent of someone slowly pressing his thumb into your forehead.