In this wonderful indie film, Justin (Lou Taylor Pucci), an unhappy teenager in a dysfunctional family, comes to the conclusion that he should kick the comforting habit he has of sucking his thumb. Maybe the habit could be the root of all his problems. He consults his new-age dentist, Perry (Keanu Reeves), who tries to hypnotize Justin into kicking his habit, but it doesn't do the trick. Perry then prescribes Ritalin to Justin. Justin's domineering yet distant father, Mike (Vincent D'Onofrio), and his loving yet daydreaming mother, Audrey (Tilda Swinton), are strangers in their own family. They don't know what to do with their son, so they agree, after hesitation, that Ritalin might be the solution. And at first, it seems to do the trick. Justin gets interested in school and joins the debate team, led by Mr. Geary (Vince Vaughn), who is Justin's greatest (and obsessed) fan. Justin wins numerous trophies, accolades, etc., but as his success increases the strength of his ego, his life becomes dissatisfying once again. Is it because he is no longer sucking his thumb? Were things better when he had his thumb to go to in times of need? Should he kick the Ritalin and go back to his thumb? Thumbsucker is an intriguing film dealing with the complexities of family and the problems of finding out who you are. With amazing performances across the board, the darkly comic tale strikes a note of originality that bests most mainstream films today. The characters are so fine-crafted and nuanced, and the story is so original (yet not over-the-top) that it's hard to stop watching. At the film's close, I found myself sad because not only had I met a group of characters that felt real and alive to me, but I had grown to care about them like they were my own dysfunctional family.
Angelo
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