You Can Count on Me

It's rare to get a good movie about the touchy adult relationship of a sister and brother. Rarer still for the director to be more fascinated by the process than the outcome. This is one of the best movies of the year. more

Satisfying in every respect, it's a piece of blue-collar chamber music, never treating the characters cheaply, allowing them a complex entwinement of emotions. more

It's simply a quiet and heartbreaking look at the dynamics of one family. That's the beauty of it. more

Beautiful, compassionate, articulate domestic drama. more

There may be bigger, costlier, weighter films this year. There's none lovelier.

The best American movie of the year. Has a subtext so powerful that it reaches out and pulls you under. Even when the surface is tranquil, you know in your guts what's at stake. more

A humanistic gem of a movie, with unforgettable performances from Linney and Ruffalo. more

It's a movie about having a sibling and all of the pain, joy, love and anxiety that that entails: a movie, in other words, for almost everyone. more

A drama that embraces the ambiguities and contradictions of family ties and human nature in all its irrational glory. more

In this modest but brilliant little movie, we find ourselves immersed in life itself. more

I saw a little of this film, and found myself drawn in by it's realness and well portrayed characters by Mark Ruffalo, Laura Linney, and Rory Culkinof the talented Culkin clan. It centers around a brother and sister who were orphaned as children due to the death of their parents in a car accident. The sister grows to become a single mother living in the very same Catskill town raising an 8 year old son. When her brother who just seems to float around arrives for a visit, things come to the surface of the sleepy town of Scottsville New York for better or worse depending on the viewpoint or... more

I was eager to see this one since about half year or so & was finally able to catch it last night. Unfortunately, it turned out to be just an about-average drama, and I surely was counting on more than that from it. more

This is what movies should strive to be, especially American ones: authentic. Watching You Can Count On Me was the first time in a long while that I forgot I was watching a movie and simply let it wash over me, taking in the characters and the situations. This movie feels just like real life - it's a shame if that doesn't register as high praise for you, but for something to so effortlessly encapsulate the ups and downs and triumphs and failures that we feel as humans really meant a lot to me. Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo are perfect in this beautiful offering to cinema. more

Another one I didn't think I would like but I did. It was hard not to get into a movie that had such realistic, endearing characters. I guess I related to thier weird-ass relationships. Very cute movie, although I kind of felt sorry for Rory Culkin's character. more

I am glad that "You Can Count on Me," the wonderful film written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan, was given a higher profile in the wake of its Academy Award nominations. This is a classic "small" film: it takes place entirely in or around a small town, and focuses on a small group of ordinary people. But the emotions of this film are powerful, the story is relevant, and Lonergan gets outstanding performances from a wonderful cast. Laura Linney plays Sammy, a single mother and bank employee. When her troubled brother Terry (Mark Ruffalo) returns to town, Sammy's life and relationship with... more

Here are the most compelling reasons to buy this film, especially on DVD: Words such as "masterpiece" and "genius" are incredibly overused these days, but I'm prepared to make the following statement: The screenplay is a masterpiece and Mark Ruffalo is a genius. (And Laura Linney, bless your soul, you are a damn fine actress.) Let me take a quick crack at supporting this statement, so that you can get on with the business of watching this movie instead of reading my review. 1. THE EDITING: Lonnergan's orginal screenplay chalked up 125 pages, which translates into roughly 125 minutes screen... more