Apostrophe S

So I haven’t posted a movie review in a while. Mostly because I really haven’t seen many movies lately. Sad, I know, but it seems like I’ve been watching a lot of TV shows lately. Not really watching TV — I download them — but watching serialized moving pictures nonetheless.

Anyway, “Lonesome Jim”. The movie was playing at a film series at McMenamins this week, so Michelle and I checked it out. I’ve been waiting for this movie to come out for a while, ever since I heard that it was being filmed and set in Goshen, (or, more precisely, Cromwell) Indiana.

The movie stars Casey Affleck as Jim, a young guy from rural Indiana who moves back home to live with his parents after a failed attempt at a writing career in New York City. He claims to suffer from “clinical despair.” His brother is no better; divorced, a father of two girls whose basketball team just can’t seem to win, and still living with his parents, Tim ends up in a coma after he purposefully ran his car into a tree.

Jim meets Anika, played by Liv Tyler, a nurse and single mother of young Ben. They both seem to like Jim, despite his seeming lack of likeable qualities. A weird romance ensues, Jim’s mother ends up in jail, and Jim comes to realize a few things about his life. That’s pretty much the plot.

Really the only reason I wanted to see the movie was because Goshen was the county seat in Elkhart County, where I grew up. I know the town pretty well. And it’s totally a place where a character could successfully suffer from “clinicial despair.” I also like Casey Affleck, about 17 times more than I like his more famous brother. I can identify with some of the rural Indiana despondency portrayed in the film, but I think it relies on a few too many Midwestern clichés, even if some of them are true.

Overall, it’s a weirdly heartwarming story about realizing the good things you’ve got and not turning your back on a those good things, etc, etc. I recommend it. Especially if you’re from Michiana. And especially especially if you’re from Goshen, and somehow managed to get out. It’ll make you feel better about yourself.

Oh, and I just read that Casey Affleck named his first child Indiana. How charming.