A family deals with the aftermath as the parents separate. Not only do the two boys have issues but they find themselves drawn into taking sides as the father (Jeff Daniels) and mother (Laura Linney) duel it out afterward. Not only that but they find the divorce has a direct impact on their lives.

The Poster

Fairly nice with its use of sketch-type drawings as background. Other than that there’s not much here but what there is sets the tone of the movie well.

The Trailer

Somebody is obviously riffing on Woody Allen here. The plot of the movie is laid out well and we’re given pretty good overviews of the main cast of characters. After a while, though, it seems like Daniels and Linney are just tired and bored and not making deliberate choices to underplay their roles. Still, bad Daniels and Linney are better than a lot of other actors out there.

We’re shown a few scenes of family life as a setup for the turn that’s coming up. What these scenes really show, though, is a lot of repressed hostility just waiting to boil over in the lives of this husband and wife. Honestly, the kids part of this story seem the weakest and are almost distracting in the trailer. I’m more interested in the overall relationship than in how the kids deal. I know that they’re necessary as emotional elements but it feels a bit contrived within the confines of the trailer.

The Website

What this site might lack in overpowering content it more than makes up for in presentation. The background images shift as you move from one section to the other in a fashion reminiscent of a View-Master, coming in at a downward angle before settling in.

“About the Film” has the usual content in the form of a Synopsis, Production Notes and other text goodies. “Characters” and “Filmmakers” covers the filmographies of those in front of and behind the camera, respectively. The trailer, a downloadable press kit and some outside links can be found in the aptly titled “Media and Trailers” section. The one thing that could have been lumped in there but wasn’t is the “E-Card.” There you can take a quiz, watch a short video and ultimately send the little interactive element to a friend. Finally there a number of glowing reviews found under “Reviews.” Since word of mouth is an important marketing element for these smaller films these reviews help spread the word to those who might not read the publications being quoted.

Overall

This movie appears to be a nice gentle emotional drama. Whether it can pull off those seeming dissonant goals is up in the air. The trailer, or more accurately the performances in the trailer, seem a bit week but still have promise. The website is pretty effective at giving visitors both access to and the ability to spread the word on the movie. Not a bad effort for a movie that is surely on very few radar screens.