Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
 

Dummy (2008)

Director: Matthew Thompson

2
Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

When their mother passes away after a lengthy illness, 18-year-old Danny (Aaron Johnson) is left in charge of his precocious 12-year-old brother Jack (Thomas Grant). Unable to cope with the responsibility, Danny finds his life spiralling into despair. Treading an awkward line between soap opera and art movie, Matthew Thompson’s debut feature, shot for a pittance on DV, is by turns predictable, pretentious and moving. The script by Michael Müller is acutely observed, dwelling on the grisly, tragic details of familial loss, while the central players are clearly committed to their roles. But Thompson’s voyeuristic eagerness to confront the harsh realities of grief  presents emotional challenges his young cast are simply unable to meet, resulting in a heartfelt but ultimately unconvincing melodrama.

Author: Tom Huddleston 2009-06-23 12:43:28

Time Out London Issue 2027, June 25 – July 1, 2009

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Dummy

Cast & crew

Director: Matthew Thompson

Cast: Aaron Johnson, Moray Grant, Emma Catherwood

Genre(s): Drama

Duration: 89 mins


Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.