I wish the pieces of Harbaugh's domestic jigsaw fit more elegantly together. Sometimes, it seems as if he's tripping into scenes the way a person might stumble into a darkened room before turning on the light.
Maybe the most damaging factor is that [director Russ] Harbaugh does nothing to establish that the paterfamilias, first seen in reasonably good health at a family gathering, is such an emotional touchstone to his wife and sons.
This first-time feature from writer/director Russell Harbaugh has an understated, intimate, pointillist style, with a cool jazz score that matches its improvisational tone.
First-time director Russell Harbaugh presents grief as it is, in all its pain and ugliness, rather than using the convenient, uplifting short-hand that Hollywood prefers.
It's a film intentionally adrift, rambling between a loose succession of family gatherings and dinner parties with subdued style, the camera feeling like just another person at the edge of the room.
