Beystiman
It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
Livestonth
I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
Anoushka Slater
While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
spitfire1210
The dangers of having a narcissistic love one in your life are dramatically portrayed in Coastlines. Be it a relative or a close friend, having a totally self absorbs person close to you (or your family) can be devastating beyond belief. Sonny's exploitation of Dave and Ann's relationship problems for his own gain coupled with zero sense of how destructive his actions will be to Dave, Ann and the children clearly show how "having" the wrong people around you or your family can ruin your lifes. The movie did a great job portraying this. Dave's decision to bring a "bad apple" like Sonny into his family was a dangerous decision that he even repeats at the end of the movie. Having sex over and over and over with Sonny showed Ann's desperation to escape the sacrifices of being a good parent and spouse. Leaving the "real' life one is in for a criminal with sweet talk and looks demonstrated how short sighted Ann really was. With hotter and more involved sex scenes and a better ending (maybe one where Dave forgives Sonny but has Sonny leave town forever) would have made this movie more enjoyable to watch and more believable. Bringing your best friend who's life is a mess and is banging your wife back home with open arms is not believable. Nice try but came up short in believability.
zaenkney
I recently became a fan of Timothy Olyphant after watching the new series "Justified", one of the best programs on FX or any other network. Fortunately, he does not disappoint in "Coastlines", not one little bit. Writer and director, Victor Nunez manages to confer a depth of character upon our protagonist that leaves us really caring what happens to him. In fact, even the children are gifted with personas that make them memorable.Sonny is a rather tragic fellow just returning home from a three year prison stint, hoping to start over. His relationship with his father is ambiguous on a good day. The affection between them is obvious, but his father just seems compelled, whenever he opens his mouth, to say something disparaging about Sonny. Unfortunately, his resolution towards a quieter life is marred slightly by unfinished past business gone bad. Nunez brilliantly culls these moments and experiences to lay open the finely nuanced aspects of Sonny's character, allowing us to really see into his soul.The music chosen for this movies is so very apt to the spiritual threads throughout. We hear some Jazz, Blues, Zydego and the movie ends on the laid back, go-with-the-flow of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Call Me The Breeze". So apropos! While some have criticized Dave's (Josh Brolin) kindness to Sonny after he misappropriates certain family valuables, so to speak, I came away with a totally different perspective. I grew up in churches that taught, repeatedly, the concept of unconditional love, yet not often have I witnessed it. The camaraderie that Sonny, Dave and Anne had formed over so many years was closer than blood. Indeed, there had to be rules and boundaries, but forgiveness, upon remorse, was a given. In conclusion, the good guys were flawed, yet they were heading in the right direction and the bad guys were heading in the correct direction. Love it!
rhopkins
This movie seems to be in commercial release finally, and you should see it. It is a companion to Ruby in Paradise and Yulee's Gold, both by Victor Nunez, and has most of their virtues (and drawbacks, maybe -- for example, I don't like the sound design choices that have been made in any of these movies....). The languid feel of the coastal towns from Carabelle to Apalachicola (Florida) is well evoked -- though the story could, I suppose, happen most anywhere. The three lead actors are all outstanding.Many of the locales in which the film is set look very different today, after hurricanes Ivan (2004) and Dennis (2005), not to mention further commercial development.
bad_robot_13
COASTLINES, a Victor Nunez film Timothy Olyphant Josh Brolin Sarah Wynter Angela Bettis(the following contains no plot spoilers, only commentary on performances and general tone)Someone's certifiably insane. Why this movie was never released is inexplicable. It portrays a complex intermingling of the relationship between three people with some close to startling revelations that lead to the ultimate resolve of their feelings.What is not surprising, having seen all of his post and previous work, is Tim Olyphant's flawless portrayal of Sonny Mann. Like his warm honey voice, Tim's seamless performance slides across the screen with a subtle but decidedly dangerous undertow. He plays Sonny quietly with a couple of notable exceptions when that unmistakably sensed volcano just under the surface throughout erupts, yet with an amazing control. It's Tim's control that conveys the feel of Sonny's quiet and determined desperation without skipping a beat and meshes his tentative yet confident tenderness effortlessly into the character. Tim doesn't let you escape knowing, with brilliant understatement at times, that Sonny has some already heavy baggage that gets a brick added to it. Tim is always accomplished at "throwing the looks" with those huge eyes, and being so completely present in any role he assumes that it reaches out, grabs you, draws you into the character, and absent any distraction from other actors draws you into the storyline simultaneously.Credit is also due to Brolin and Wynters for the everyday believability seen in their characters. Angela Bettis's performance also falls neatly into that category, though I kept waiting for her to morph more completely into Juliette Lewis, but haven't bothered to figure out quite why that is yet - though it's probably a flashback to Lewis's character in Kalifornia.The friendship between Sonny and Dave and his wife, Ann, is at first heartwarming but rapidly becomes disturbingly uncomfortable and tense, and oddly enough more so to the viewer than to the characters when the movie ends with a tentative resolve.The almost too evenly paced plot is coherently interrupted five times, which is enough to save it from flatness; three times by physicals events involving Olyphant's character, and twice by dialog between Brolin and Wynter. The interesting thing is that the dialog shockers are at least as effective as the physical ones, and if Brolin's last deceivingly quietly delivered zinger in the storyline doesn't make you jump then you're in an alternate universe, or at the very least have the volume turned off.The examined dynamics of love and friendship alone make this a worthwhile view. Then there's Tim Olyphant - more icing than any cake can handle.
