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****
Dir: Destin Daniel Cretton (12A, 127 mins)
The director of the excellent Short Term 12 teams up again with his star Brie Larson, now with an Oscar under her belt for Room, for this coming-of-age story with the backdrop of an unconventional childhood. Adapted from Jeanette Walls’ autobiography, the film unflinchingly shows the effects a rambling, chaotic childhood can have. Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts play the parents, leading their four kids across the country, instilling the idea of freedom, but also not being able to feed them all the time, never having money and eventually descending into addiction. Larson plays the grown-up daughter Jeanette realising what a gift and a curse such an upbringing was in a bittersweet story of father and daughter love. Harrelson is excellent, veering from enthused bluster to infuriating abuse and Larson transforms herself from essentially white trash to a sophisticate. Another strong, detailed drama from Cretton that isn’t as smug as the similarly themed Captain Fantastic.
Opens Oct 6