Forget Boxcar Willy, this is the real thing. This movie is well made, and like the other review has said, it bears strong similarities to Dark Days, both are non glamorous, honest portrayals of people on the fringe of our society, as New York Slim puts it "the unwanted, the lost souls". Both movies dig into the lives of people you and I would normally never talk to revealing some truly interesting characters with heart wrenching personal stories. They cluster together and form whatever bonds they can in the unforgiving lands they travel. Some are decent people (New York Slim verges on the saintly) while others fit the stereotype, shiftless, people using, alcoholics/drug addicts. The main difference between the two movies is that Dark Days has a wonderful uplifting ending, whereas Long Gone is far less a fairy tale. There are some magical moments in the movie, such as the almost unbelievable love affair between the grizzly old, toothless dogman Tony and the remarkably beautiful and angelic 18 year girl (I forget her name, or it's not mentioned). I will never again complain about mismatched romantic pairings in movies after seeing this, if someone were to script that I would walk out of the theatre.
But I digress. Some of this movie upset me, there are times when you feel yelling that these people for some questionable personal decisions they are making, for instance letting an alcoholic kill himself or having a relationship with a drug using asshole, but I guess these people accept each other for who they are, not judging them or trying to change them like the rest of us would. That is probably the most common message throughout this film, pure acceptance without judgement. Of course, this is not a perfect philosophy as many of these people learn with very hard life lessons and could have been avoided. So is it better to accept self destructive people for who they are or try to help them? This movie offers no answers, but the question is presented in subtle ways without narration. The conclusion I draw is that this kind of lifestyle is not for the faint of heart.
This is a sad movie and a bit of a downer (although for the ultimate downer, try "Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street", which is the most depressing documentary on drug use I have ever seen) but it's real, and raw and at times there are glimpses of beauty (with Tom Waits suitably howling in the background in the more touching moments of the film) and will surprise you and challenge your pre conceived notions of what society labels as "bums". There are real people underneath, maybe a little messed up, but they should not all be painted with the same brush. In fact, many of these people have more character than the lying scumbag producer from 20/20 who completely lied to the faces of the train riders and did exactly what they were pleading with him not to do, smear them. What this movie and other movies like Dark Days reveal is that life is more complex than we allow ourselves to believe, even though it's easier to deal with it if we make assumptions, but it's not reality, it is artificial realty we create to justify our own coldness and heartlessness.
But I digress. Some of this movie upset me, there are times when you feel yelling that these people for some questionable personal decisions they are making, for instance letting an alcoholic kill himself or having a relationship with a drug using asshole, but I guess these people accept each other for who they are, not judging them or trying to change them like the rest of us would. That is probably the most common message throughout this film, pure acceptance without judgement. Of course, this is not a perfect philosophy as many of these people learn with very hard life lessons and could have been avoided. So is it better to accept self destructive people for who they are or try to help them? This movie offers no answers, but the question is presented in subtle ways without narration. The conclusion I draw is that this kind of lifestyle is not for the faint of heart.
This is a sad movie and a bit of a downer (although for the ultimate downer, try "Black Tar Heroin: The Dark End of the Street", which is the most depressing documentary on drug use I have ever seen) but it's real, and raw and at times there are glimpses of beauty (with Tom Waits suitably howling in the background in the more touching moments of the film) and will surprise you and challenge your pre conceived notions of what society labels as "bums". There are real people underneath, maybe a little messed up, but they should not all be painted with the same brush. In fact, many of these people have more character than the lying scumbag producer from 20/20 who completely lied to the faces of the train riders and did exactly what they were pleading with him not to do, smear them. What this movie and other movies like Dark Days reveal is that life is more complex than we allow ourselves to believe, even though it's easier to deal with it if we make assumptions, but it's not reality, it is artificial realty we create to justify our own coldness and heartlessness.