Ithaca (2015)

“There will always be pain in this world, Homer. And a good man will seek to take the pain out of things.” – Mrs. Macauley

Number of Times Seen –1 (25 Oct 2016)

Brief Synopsis – A 14 year old boy takes on a job as a telegram messenger in order to help his mother pay the bills after his older brother is sent off to fight in World War Two.

My Take on it – I heard about this movie a few months ago and was excited about the prospect of another teaming up of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan for Ryan’s directorial debut.

Fortunately, that isn’t what this film is all about.

Hanks and Ryan’s roles can really be classified as cameos here and the bulk of the work is placed upon young unknown actors who aptly carry this film in a very moving manner.

This film gives us yet another perspective of war and how it affects those who stay home to tend to the house and children while others fight to defend their rights to these things.

I liked how Ryan cast her son as one of the main characters and it’s easy to see that Jack Quaid has a future in the business and should do as well if not better than his actor parents (Ryan and her ex-husband Dennis Quaid).

The focus is mainly on Alex Neustaedter character who at the young age of 14 is thrust into the role of heading his family once his brother is sent off to war.

We see how this new responsibility affects him, his life, his emotions and his outlook on what’s important in life; he grows up right before our eyes and it’s great to watch.

Much of these changes are subtle ones and it helps make the story quite moving because of the way it is presented.

Hamish Linklater and Sam Shepard are both also great in supporting roles.

This perceptive that we get to see of the war from the homefront is pretty unique and is handled exceptionally well by Ryan.

Hopefully, this will not be her first and only outing as a director because if she can make more movies like this one, we all have lots of great films to look forward to.

Bottom Line – Very moving story that works most of the time because of its subtleties. Great unknown cast carries this film with a bit of help by cameos from more defined and known actors. Gives a great perspective on what happened on the homefront while the war was being fought in Europe and Asia. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Meg Ryan’s directorial debut. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

_______________________________________

Check out my *updated* movie stats here

To see my reviews of Oscar Winning Performances check out this link

To see my reviews of all Oscar Best Picture Winners click here (now complete)

Here is a link to my movie index A-Z