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A struggling musician fights for custody of his young daughter

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Paul Dano sports a goatee, black nails and rock-star tattoos as struggling musician Joby fighting for custody of his young daughter.

Yet he’s as much of a screw-up as ever in this glacially paced indie from Treeless Mountain director So Yong Kim, a Sundance special whose muted emotions take a while to access.

Jon Heder’s turn as the small-town brief handling Dano’s divorce adds gentle humour to the slow-burning preamble.

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Yet poignancy is reserved for Joby’s eventual meeting with Ellen (Shaylena Mandigo), a liaison so raw and true it points up the ponderous inertia of the rest.

Neil Smith
Neil Smith
Freelance Writer

Neil Smith is a freelance film critic and writer who contributes regularly to Heat, SFX and Screen International. He's a long-time member of the London Film Critics’ Circle and was a contributing editor at Total Film for many years.