Does saving someone else’s life make you responsible for them? This is the central question of this penetrating film about existential angst, which is grounded in subtle oppositions: friendship and duties, innocence and manipulation, past and present.
Lost and shy, Sherman is a welcome guest in the Page home. He reconnects with his old friend over beers on the porch and during nights on the town. But when he overstays his welcome, the seemingly placid countenance of this veteran starts to crack, and he lashes out in outbursts of aggressiveness and resentment toward Irene. Drawn from a short story by Rachel Ingalls, the film plunges from quiet character study into psychological thriller.
As Sherman, Dillahunt (whom you might remember as the sheriff in Winter’s Bone) is nothing less than splendid. He conveys the hurt of a lost soldier, and hints at an emotional time bomb ticking beneath the surface of a calm exterior. Parker, who previously acted alongside Dillahunt in ‘Deadwood’, is equally compelling as the warm and understanding wife of a no-nonsense man. Franklin is embodied to subtle perfection by Logue. These fine performances buoy a gripping and memorable film.
– Martin Bilodeau, Toronto International Film Festival