You Can Count on Me

Even though most of the movies reviewed here feature actors that have since passed on, I do try to catch up on more recent movies, like You Can Count on Me.

Laura Linney is an actress who should get more praise than she already gets. She is a really good actress. Here she plays the independent-minded woman, a role she would revisit in the years to come. From the choice of performances she has done, I think that her work in You Can Count on Me is one of her best.

Though Linney got top billing (and eventually an Oscar nomination), it's Mark Ruffalo who's the star. He is almost a child himself, unaware of where to go and what to do. You can see that confused child in his eyes. He doesn't show it, but he seeks out the love and acceptance that was absent from his own childhood. How he didn't get nominated as well, I'll never know.

Even with all the acclaim it got upon its release, You Can Count on Me is actually quite underrated. Linney and Ruffalo give some of the best performances of the last decade. Though I felt it was a tad melodramatic in some scenes, it's truly one of the best movies of the past decade.

My Rating: ****1/2