Writer-director Brian Helgeland (Payback, A Knight’s Tale, 42, Legend) helms this family drama about half-brothers Tom (Ben Foster), a seasoned scallop fisherman, and Charlie (Toby Wallace), who’s been admitted to college but wants to try his hand at fishing for the summer despite his father, Gary’s (Tim Daly), resistance to the idea. Mother of both boys, Donna (Lolita Davidovich), loves her sons and wants them to find their own way. The main wrench in the family dynamics is Tom’s dad and Donna’s ex-husband, Eldridge (Tommy Lee Jones at his craggy best).
Charlie finds a love interest in towny girlfriend, Mabel (Jenna Ortega), who has some shady friends, and the story gets dicey when Eldridge convinces Tom to take his boat out fishing, and—long story short—runs into trouble, and then to solve that problem, creates an even bigger one. It’s a story about estrangement, reconciliation, and family ties that bind.
The film has been roundly panned by critics, who found it meandering, convoluted, and in some cases boring, but it’s a story in no rush to get to its conclusion, and I was fine with that. Excellent performances by Jones, Foster, Ortega, and Davidovich help elevate the film. (126-min.)
—Glen Starkey