I felt it did have similarities to You Can Count on Me in terms of plot – both films were essentially about people from small towns who experience tragedy, then it looks at characters who choose to run away from it, and those who choose to live with it (that is, the tragedy).
It's funny, because I've read other reviews on the net where people say it's a two-hour slit-your-wrists fest. But I really disagree. There were some hilarious bits of dialogue in this. I'm a big fan of generational friendships – it's great to see an estranged uncle and nephew learning to get along together like they used to.
I also loved how these grumpy Massachusetts people speak to each other. There's a certain humour behind their gruffness that just cracks me up. Compared to the positive hippies on the West Coast, they just seem so brutal (a lot like the cold climate they live in). And that's refreshing. It just goes to show how vast and different America is.
Not a bad film. 7/10
