I've seen a number of great independent films this year, few better than Chad Hartigan's exceptional, wise-beyond-its-years This Is Martin Bonner. A younger man's view of middle-age that is neither condescending nor bemused, recognizing old age is not be as alien as we might think while also acknowledging that one's worries and preoccupations do shift. It's a beautiful, lived-in movie, matching the older age of its leads with a sedate style that eschews the Dardennes-aping handheld cameras and blotchy sub-impressionism that seem to be so popular at Sundance. It's just good storytelling on a written, visual and acted level, and one of the best of the year's first half.Read my review over at Movie Mezzanine.
