From Tom Hanks to David Chase, it seems there’s a favorite
subject for established media types who turn to feature film directing: guys
forming a rock band. The latest to pursue this beguiling if unoriginal path is
actor William H. Macy, who turns out a winning, well-crafted musical drama in
“Rudderless.”
Macy has also chosen to take up what one critic recently
labeled the most overworked of current dramatic premises: people recovering
from the death of a loved one. In this case, the aggrieved character is a dad
who eventually calls himself Sam (Billy Crudup). We start out seeing his
college-age son, Josh (Miles Hetzer), recording some demos of songs he’s
written. Then there’s a shooting at the college Josh attends and suddenly the
boy is dead. His father and the rest of his family, needless to say, are
thunderstruck.
Two years later, Sam is living solo on a sailboat, earning
money as a house painter and drinking a lot. The latter pursuit leads him to a
bar that has an open mike night where locals perform their own tunes (all very
creditable compositions and performances, incidentally). One night Sam has a
wild idea and gets up and performs a song of Josh’s. The performance not only
gets a good reaction, it also wins him a fan.
The young guy who follows him out of the bar, Quentin (Anton
Yelchin), seems bowled over by what he’s just heard. He also seems like a young
musician needy for various kinds of support, inspiration and creative
companionship. Sam, for obvious reasons, is not an easy guy to strike up a
friendship with. But Quentin keeps after him, especially regarding the quality
of the songs he mysteriously harbors, and, soon enough, Sam is not only playing
more, he’s also allowing his young pal to sing and play back-up.
It’s just a hop and a skip from there to forming a band with
two other musicians (Ben Kweller, Ryan Dean). When the foursome, which calls
itself Rudderless, takes the stage and cuts loose, the crowd’s reaction is
euphoric. And well it should be: The songs (credited to Simon Steadman,
Charlton Steadman and Fink) are very hooky rockers, and the band’s performance
is blistering. Sam, in particular, seems reborn.
This moment comes roughly halfway into the film, and it’s
too bad it’s relatively fleeting. The music is so good and the band so credible
that this viewer would have enjoyed much more of both. Instead, the film
(written by Casey Twenter, Jeff Robison and Macy) continues on its narrative
path but grows a bit wobbly with the kinds of second-half contrivances that
some indie dramas are prone to. These include plot strands concerning Sam’s
relations with a local music store owner (Laurence Fishburne) and feuding with
the management of the marina where his boat is docked, his evolving father-son
dynamic with Quentin, and a crucial last-act revelation regarding the actual
circumstances of his son’s death.
Contrived or not, the story is put across with pleasing,
unpretentious conviction and skill by Macy (who has a supporting turn as the
manager of the watering hole where Rudderless performs). The performances he
elicits from his entire cast are very flavorful and nuanced, with the two leads
proving especially impressive. Crudup, a versatile and solid performer in all
circumstances, ably conveys Sam’s sorrow and guarded yearning for a new life,
while Yelchin gives Quentin an edgy, skittering energy. Both actors are also
extremely adept at the musical aspects of their roles.
If this directorial outing was in any sense an audition for
the talented Mr. Macy, he should be congratulated on passing it.
Source:: http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/rudderless-2014
