It’s safe to say people don’t enjoy those indie films that are worshiped at all of the cool film festivals quite as much as they are supposed to. Most of the time, they’re boring, slow or there is so much cleavage hogging one scene it’s hard to know what is really going on.
A quality film is one that tells a story all people, especially this generation, can see themselves reflected in. The indie film “Men, Women, and Children” might have that story.
The film’s all-star cast includes Jennifer Garner, Rosemarie DeWitt and Adam Sandler. It’s directed and written by Jason Reitman, who made the teenage hit “Juno” rise into fame. “Men, Women and Children” is a comedy drama about parents and their children and how the Internet (and everything that comes with it) affects each of their relationships.
The film is based on a novel by Chad Kultgen, with a screenplay by Jason Reitman. It’s an important reflection of things that the Internet brings to us, such as social networking, and how it can also pull people further apart into isolation and an impending feeling of loneliness.
Garner plays a mom who is completely in charge of her teenage daughter’s phone and computer, to the extent where she deletes text messages on her daughter’s phone before she is even allowed to read them. She even has a group of parents meet together to talk about how to keep their children safe from dangers of the Internet.
Ansel Elgort, of “The Fault In Our Stars” fame, plays a teenager with a passion for online video gaming, and who has eyes for Garner’s daughter.
Alongside Rosemarie DeWitt is a very rough-looking Adam Sandler. The pair plays a couple whose relationship is on the rocks, and who come across a way (via the Internet) to meet their needs through a type of infidelity that comes across as social networking.
“Men, Women, and Children” is currently playing at the Maple Theater in Bloomfield. It’s possible that it might be coming to more local theaters soon after getting more notoriety.
Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram give us tiny peeks into the reality of each other’s worlds, leading people to make assumptions about each other that aren’t always correct.
The end of the trailer for the movie displays the words “Discover how little you know about the people you know.” This is very powerful and timely considering how relevant the Internet has become to society, and how it can potentially be destructive.
