Cast (in credits order) verified as complete
You Can Count on Me Movie Trailer
You Can Count on Me (2000) Official Trailer #1 - Laura Linney Movie HD
You Can Count on Me Film Description
In You Can Count on Me Movie Kenneth Lonergan's screenplay is so poignant that I couldn't help but be swayed by this relatively quiet drama, one that focuses on a relationship mostly overlooked in movies, the delicate relationship between brother and sister during their adult years.
The story begins with the sudden death of the main characters' parents in an auto accident, a life-changing event that serves as a catalyst for all the failures that both children experience later in their lives.
Of course, the siblings become a study in contrasts. Brother Terry is a drifting ne'er-do-well who refuses to engage in anything resembling responsibility because it means he needs to make an emotional investment.
His sister Sammy is the polar opposite, a controlling perfectionist who stayed in her hometown to build an orderly life for herself and her son.
It's the only way she knows how to save them from complications that force her to question her own existence. She holds a respectable but monotonous job as a loan officer at a bank, keeping a well-intentioned suitor at arm's length and hoping for a male role model for her only son.
When Terry comes to town for a visit, the core of emotion felt by both characters feels so real that it makes the episodic nature of the film seem more cohesive and touching.
This is a remarkable achievement for Lonergan, who is making his feature film directorial debut with You Can Count on Me Movie. He even makes a cameo as the dead local minister, who seems content to dispense advice into nothingness.
The acting of the leads is superb. In his first leading role, Mark Ruffalo captures Terry's jaded nature with an effective mix of childlike innocence and restless bravery.
Ruffalo provides heart to a fundamentally inconsistent character without compromising on the emotional inertia that drains everyone around him. But I have to hand the picture to Laura Linney, who is letter perfect as Sammy.
Her porcelain looks and pinched demeanor provide a veneer for an emotionally fragile woman who is conflicted about not only her brother but her entire existence as she begins to realize it.
The scenes between these two actors are consistently amazing. The best of them is the lunch scene where his enthusiasm to see her quickly turns to despair when he realizes the true purpose of his visit; the amusing pot-smoking scene on the porch when she confesses to an incestuous affair with her master; And a heartbreaking goodbye when he realizes how much he needs her in his life, no matter how much pain he's put through.
Rory Culkin plays Rudy, Sammy's son, with quiet maturity, and the interactions between Culkin and Ruffalo are well handled as it becomes clear that the death of Terry's parents actually made him Rudy.
Has made the same emotional age. In a supporting role, Matthew Broderick plays Sammy's boss, sporting the lewd, honey-toned pretense at which he has become a master, and is the inspiration behind the hilarious scenes at the bank, Which takes on a Dilbert-esquire flavor with precise accuracy. , Twangy country songs provide a comedic counterpoint to the illicit scenes between her and Sammy.
I really like You Can Count on Me Movie and look forward to seeing what Lonergan does next. The DVD includes a short documentary featuring interviews with Lonergan, Linney and Ruffalo.
Highly recommended especially for those who have danced fast between love and anger with their families.
Not all stories need characters to have a crisis to resolve or an issue to press in order to be compelling.
Some stories are simply pieces of the world from our working days, packaged and presented in such a way as to entertain us. "You Can Count on Me Movie" is one such story, and its cinematic narrative is one of the best films of the 2000s.
The story's protagonists are two siblings, Sammy (Laura Lynne), a divorced, single mother living a middle-class life in their small up-state New York hometown, and Terry, her loose-legged, presumed screw-up, brother.
Apparently, he rarely visits, but when he does it's because he wants something, usually money. "You Can Count on Me Movie" describes one such journey. That's about it plot-wise.
But the film looks deeper into his life; Terry's influence on Sammy's 8-year-old son, Sammy's relationship with her ex-boyfriend, and her new boss, Terry and Sammy and their differing expectations of each other.
I hope this doesn't sound boring, because it isn't. The film depicts these lives and relationships without Freudian analysis or concern. Things are what they are, and it's a treat to share them.
A sister and her brother, both grown up, see the world in ways that are quite different. A divorced sister and her young son live in the small town in which she grew up.
These are its roots. Nothing exciting happens here, but his routine life offers security and stability.
One day his brother comes to meet him. Bhai is something of a vagabond, wanders from place to place, unmarried, restless, looking for adventure.
His journey creates a conflict between him and his sister and their different lifestyles: one sedentary, the other nomadic. In the absence of other siblings, and with the death of both parents, each relies on the other to provide support for the family.
It's the kind of movie that a lot of viewers can identify with, because everything that happens in the movie is pretty banal: babysitting, plumbing troubles, time sheets, an annoying white-collar boss...the stuff of everyday life. . The emphasis is on contemporary realism.
Both Laura Lynne (as the sister) and Mark Ruffalo (as the brother) were well cast for their roles. Both do a fine job of acting.
The dialogues of the film are realistic and believable. The country/western music is good, but a bit surprising, given that the story takes place in upstate New York.
If the film is lacking, it is a slow start. Also, the story unfolds like a soap opera at times.
Since the brother and sister have no other adult family, the theme of the film is the same as its title: "You Can Count on Me Movie". The story tugs at your heartstrings, especially with that poignant ending.
Because of its relevant, contemporary premise, its character development, and the high quality in direction, cinematography, editing, casting, acting, and production design, this is a film that most viewers will probably find satisfactory.
You can trust me this is a really refreshing movie. The most enchanting aspect of the film is its lifelike characters and stellar performances.
The characters are human, there are no angels, no evil demons here - just real people, with real failings and real vulnerabilities, real moments, real feelings, real warmth, real stupidity...
You Can Count on Me Film on this A simple story beautifully told. A romantic film, a family film, a warm film about human relationships, complexities and the tender moments in between.
It is a thoroughly enjoyable film with no awkward moments, the background score is great, the acting is superb especially Laura Linney is quite exceptional.
The film has several funny scenes, the pace of the film is good and the screenplay is well executed, the dialogues are enjoyable. Really a good movie.
Absolutely recommended for those who are bored of big budget fake Hollywood scripts with their outlandish characters. You Can Count on Me Film is close to heart.
Originally written as a one-act (which manifests as Terry and Sammy's final meeting at the restaurant) by stage veteran Kenneth Lonergan, 'You Can Count on Me Film' is a stunningly realistic take on film dynamics and relationships. There are forms that come from it. Family breakdown and separation.
Separated from their parents at an early age, Sammy and Terry, older and younger respectively, are forced to rely on each other throughout their youth, until Terry disappears, leaving the country for a long time. Traveled all over.
When he finally returns, Terry finds that Sammy has built a somewhat stable life for herself in her beautiful provincial Appalachian hometown with her single-mother life and her beloved son, Rudy.
'You Can Count on Me Film' boasts of honest, believable dialogues and stellar performances.
Laura Lynne's performance as the somewhat restrained Sammy is easily her best, and Mark Ruffalo's performance as Terry is also highly developed.
The beauty of You Can Count on Me Film is that there are literally hundreds of places for the plot or action to derail and become an emotional juice-fest ripe with over-dramatic exclamations, but it stays on the right track, always honest, brutal and, ultimately , Dear.
Lonergan has hit a goldmine of sorts here. Fans of his hugely successful 'This Is Our Youth' will recognize his work here, as 'You Can Count on Me Film' is clearly near and kin to it.
Don't expect breath-taking special effects. Don't expect dramatic exclamations or explanations. Don't expect the specific or the mundane.
The film is exceptionally telling about the boundaries we create for ourselves and those we love.