Created by newcomer brothers Ben and Joshua Safdie, 'Daddy Longlegs' was shot on 16 millimeter and has the appearance of a film created in the late 70s (it seems like this is when the film is supposed to take place). It's up for the John Cassavettes Award as part of the independent cinema Spirit Awards in 2011 and reminds one of a Cassavettes film, shot in a cinema verite style, with partially a jazz score underneath. I recently heard the Safdies speak about the film in person and they indicated that it's loosely based on experiences with their father who divorced their mother years ago.
Daddy Longlegs is about a ne'er-do-well by the name of Lenny played by first-time actor Ronald Bronstein. Lenny is divorced from his wife and gets to spend two weeks out of the year with his 7 and 9 year old children, Sage and Frey (played by Sage and Frey Ranaldo in real life). Bronstein remained in character even when not on the set—for example when he visited Sage and Frey at their real school!
Daddy Longlegs is the portrait of a parent who obviously loves his children, but through his irresponsible behavior, ultimately places their lives in jeopardy. When we first meet Lenny, he defensively argues with the school principal who has taken the children out of school for picking fights with other kids. Lenny does crazy things like walking on his hands across the street with the children. After having an argument with his girlfriend, he picks up another woman and goes to bed with her. He then convinces this woman, a virtual stranger, to drive upstate with her boyfriend and brings the kids along on a mini-vacation.
We then experience more examples of bizarre parenting from Lenny. He places a lizard inside a cereal box as a prize for the boys; an acquaintance comes over and ends up sleeping with Lenny in his bed (it's not clear whether they have sex); he's mugged by a man on the street at gunpoint but fails to mention the incident to the children; and he allows the children to buy groceries by themselves at a supermarket blocks away from their apartment.
Lenny also takes unnecessary risks when he's with adults: he hangs out with his bizarre girlfriend who insists on meeting him at the next train stop by walking through a subway tunnel; he also hangs out with undesirable companions and they all get arrested one night for making graffiti.
The crisis of the film's second act occurs after Lenny is unable to find a babysitter for the children but must show up at his job as a projectionist. He ends up giving the kids what he thinks is a small dosage of sedatives but they fail to wake up in the morning. A doctor friend comes over and informs Lenny that the children are okay but in a coma which they might not wake up from for a couple of days or even a week. You've really got to your suspend your disbelief that a doctor wouldn't have called the police in this situation. As it turns out, all's well that ends well when the children wake up after being out cold for about two days.
The film's denouement occurs when Lenny decides to abduct the children and move to a new apartment. The Safdies indicate that this actually happened to them at the hands of their father but ultimately he wasn't arrested in real life. In most child abduction cases, the offending parent is much more cunning than the impulsive Lenny. What happens is the children are usually taken out of state. Here, Lenny remains in New York City, where presumably he will be ultimately caught and arrested for child abduction.
There's are some very nice things about 'Daddy Longlegs', particularly Bronstein's performance as the irresponsible parent. The Safdies also utilize quite a number of non-professional actors to very good effect in this film. On the down side, the film's cinema verite style is dated and I hope that the Safdies will be able to prove they're capable of shooting in different genres and styles in the future. Finally, the other characters in the film are virtual ciphers; they have no back story and are only there to highlight Lenny's impulsivity and idiosyncrasies.
Perhaps the most admirable aspect of Daddy Longlegs is the creators' forgiving nature. Despite not being treated very well by their father as children, they have managed to forgive him as adults and in the fictional arena, have created a complex portrait of a fictional father who is both loving and cruel at the same time.
Daddy Longlegs is about a ne'er-do-well by the name of Lenny played by first-time actor Ronald Bronstein. Lenny is divorced from his wife and gets to spend two weeks out of the year with his 7 and 9 year old children, Sage and Frey (played by Sage and Frey Ranaldo in real life). Bronstein remained in character even when not on the set—for example when he visited Sage and Frey at their real school!
Daddy Longlegs is the portrait of a parent who obviously loves his children, but through his irresponsible behavior, ultimately places their lives in jeopardy. When we first meet Lenny, he defensively argues with the school principal who has taken the children out of school for picking fights with other kids. Lenny does crazy things like walking on his hands across the street with the children. After having an argument with his girlfriend, he picks up another woman and goes to bed with her. He then convinces this woman, a virtual stranger, to drive upstate with her boyfriend and brings the kids along on a mini-vacation.
We then experience more examples of bizarre parenting from Lenny. He places a lizard inside a cereal box as a prize for the boys; an acquaintance comes over and ends up sleeping with Lenny in his bed (it's not clear whether they have sex); he's mugged by a man on the street at gunpoint but fails to mention the incident to the children; and he allows the children to buy groceries by themselves at a supermarket blocks away from their apartment.
Lenny also takes unnecessary risks when he's with adults: he hangs out with his bizarre girlfriend who insists on meeting him at the next train stop by walking through a subway tunnel; he also hangs out with undesirable companions and they all get arrested one night for making graffiti.
The crisis of the film's second act occurs after Lenny is unable to find a babysitter for the children but must show up at his job as a projectionist. He ends up giving the kids what he thinks is a small dosage of sedatives but they fail to wake up in the morning. A doctor friend comes over and informs Lenny that the children are okay but in a coma which they might not wake up from for a couple of days or even a week. You've really got to your suspend your disbelief that a doctor wouldn't have called the police in this situation. As it turns out, all's well that ends well when the children wake up after being out cold for about two days.
The film's denouement occurs when Lenny decides to abduct the children and move to a new apartment. The Safdies indicate that this actually happened to them at the hands of their father but ultimately he wasn't arrested in real life. In most child abduction cases, the offending parent is much more cunning than the impulsive Lenny. What happens is the children are usually taken out of state. Here, Lenny remains in New York City, where presumably he will be ultimately caught and arrested for child abduction.
There's are some very nice things about 'Daddy Longlegs', particularly Bronstein's performance as the irresponsible parent. The Safdies also utilize quite a number of non-professional actors to very good effect in this film. On the down side, the film's cinema verite style is dated and I hope that the Safdies will be able to prove they're capable of shooting in different genres and styles in the future. Finally, the other characters in the film are virtual ciphers; they have no back story and are only there to highlight Lenny's impulsivity and idiosyncrasies.
Perhaps the most admirable aspect of Daddy Longlegs is the creators' forgiving nature. Despite not being treated very well by their father as children, they have managed to forgive him as adults and in the fictional arena, have created a complex portrait of a fictional father who is both loving and cruel at the same time.