Runaway (2005)

Wow! Such a good movie.

Did you people see the same film I saw?

A Masterpiece!

The acting in this movie is really good.

Michael Adler (Aaron Stanford) is struggling to cope under the supervision of Dr. Maxim (Terry Kinney). He runs away with his younger brother Dylan from his parents (Melissa Leo, Michael Gaston). He works at a convenience store with foul-mouthed Carly (Robin Tunney) and owner Mo (Peter Gerety).It's a low budget indie. Stanford does a quiet compelling character although I would have wanted him to act out more. I want him to hint at the ultimate twist. The movie in general needs a few more visceral clues. It needs to amp up the tension so that the final twist fits better. It could have dug into his personal strive and given him a license to act out. Carly is a fun character. She saves this from being too low energy. Her relationship with Michael is great. She has one amazing scene. There is just a need for more foreboding in the tone.

***May contain spoilers***I came to this relatively unknown film as a new Aaron Stanford fan (thank 12 monkeys). Echoing some of the good points raised by fellow peer reviews, the acting and cinematography was sensitive in a low key way, and largely free from sensationalism and gratuitous voyeurism; given the subject.Much credit should also go to the people who selected the music for the film. I feel that the soundtrack really built the right mood and atmosphere, and lent the right level of ennui and beauty to the film.I do have a slight bone to pick on the narrative, namely that 'a person with a damaged past becomes a danger to others and themselves, in spite of efforts and appearances'. Mental and emotional distress, no matter how traumatic, does not necessarily create monsters. It's important to remember that many people will recover from trauma to go on to be successful/passable people socially, emotionally, etc.I supported the work of some serious psychotherapists working with some fairly distressed and abused young people for a year and heard many stories. But these did not happen to include cases of dissociative disorder as portrayed in this film (and revealed at the end) - where someone can block out so completely their reality and replace it with a version which omits what they have done so convincingly and consistently, whilst being such a charming, pleasant and sensitive soul in their delusional state. Usually damage reveals itself with some levels of behavioural problems, which Aaron Stanford's character seemed to lack any ones of concern.It might be the case that this could happen, but it is so important that people know it would be the rarest of cases. It would be really sad to meet someone so likable but so irredeemable at the same time in real life. It is important that those who have experienced past abuse don't feel that others would suspect they have been made dangerous by their experience. Still, strong and believable acting performances by Aaron Stanford, Robin Tunney, and Zach Savage.

Boy! This was a gripping and very well acted and written film about a very difficult subject, namely the effect of child molestation on its victims. For what appears to be an extremely low budget film, I was as intensely involved as I have been in any film in a long time. So why did I only give this film a 7? Because of the surprising ending. I realize sometimes a shocking ending can make an otherwise mediocre film worth while, like in the 1970's little seen shocker "The Baby", but in this film, after so much pain and difficulty, I was hoping for an upbeat or at least hopeful ending. It left me so let down that, despite its cleverness, I felt deflated and even depressed. I can't imagine this film finding much audience beyond the festival circuit, no matter how much it deserves to be admired. I don't have to have a Hollywood ending, but a little sliver of something hopeful would have helped.

I saw this at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival with the director and producer present. I unfortunately didn't have time to stay for the Q&A.This is a story about a protective elder brother and his younger brother who are runaways in a small non-descript town.But just what are they running away from? Well -- we fairly quickly have a pretty good idea what that something might be though with a series of spread out flashbacks depicting a somewhat troubling home life. But then I felt I was waiting for the movie to get rolling, when instead it took it's time. Perhaps a bit too much time for my pacing.Regardless, the film does a good job at creating suspense amongst our troubled characters. In particular, the role of the elder brother's co-worker, played by Prisonbreak's Robin Tunney was excellent. She's right on as the carefree yet sympathetic shoulder to lean on.Overall, this was a good movie to watch, with a good screenplay and good acting.