Now, following
Winter's Bone comes another slice of American life that couldn't be any different, yet captures fully realized and
sympathetic characters. It tells the story of a married lesbian couple with two children from a sperm donor. The children decide to contact him and his male presence throws them for a loop, especially the mothers, one who may be jealous and finds his presence disrupting their family unit while the other begins to feel attracted to him (the phrase "but the parents aren't" could be added to the title). What we are left with is an honest and (mostly) fair film filled with comedy, sadness, and even great filmmaking (a moment of realization is handled as nicely as I've seen). Everyone in the film shines. The kids are wonderfully cast (which is a rarity) and look for nominations for
Mark Ruffalo (the donor),
Annette Bening (the domineering mother), and
Julianne Moore (the more feminine mother). I had qualms with the resolution but still found this to be a wonderful film.
***1/2
