Nice effects though.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Growing up in Texas and traveling to Texas towns to show horses as a youth, something about the feel of this movie felt very familiar. I thought the interaction of the people was very real. Movies in rural settings that focus on people's relationships have such a pure,albeit lonely feel. The lesson that apart from violence, people's differences won't hurt us or rub off on us and we can be friends and supportive of all different kinds of people. AND the soundtrack is my favorite album in all the world. What a bonus. I had never even heard of many of these musicians before and they are so good. Another movie I saw recently with a similar feel was Hi-lo Country. And this movie even had an appearance by Don Walser, another fabulous, although little known musician.

This movie's tone captures the atmosphere that fuels the main characters' angst and ennui. There are characters that seem purposely written vague as a story devise. Things revealed about them make this devise effective. One teen's survival seems to be the salvation for so many. But the main character is not a Christ figure. Gosling has played this type of character before -- Trapped between doing the right thing and rebelling against himself ("The Believer"). A gripping character study. David Morse continues to demonstrate his versatility. And the cinematography paints the bleak surroundings that inform the consciousness of Gosling's character. Clea Duvall gives good misunderstood-tortured-soul, and the secondary characters were all appropriately shallow and callous. There was no effort to break ground with this film. But the filmmakers did manage to capture ordinary moments, pause over them and offer some insights. No one will mistake this for the Coen brothers, but they, too, started with basic ideas and developed a unique style of film-making that was shaped by their early experiences and the story arc of their own maturation. Small films like this are a luxury for young actors, most of who are pushed to become silver screen icons as a heartthrobs, action muscle or totally irreverent rakes. Gosling -- for one -- is getting an opportunity to hone his skills as a character actor and cane likely find work no matter what the genre. Morese also will not hurt for work and Duvall has shown that she rises above the roles she's asked to play. I think there is more good work to come for all of them. There is should be more good work from these filmmakers as well. How they handle more complex material will be the next thing to watch for.

Having this movie shot in my hometown (Great Falls, Montana), I answered a local casting call for extras. Blink and you'll miss me in the bonfire/party scene. My high school (Great Falls High) was the school used in the beginning of the film, and the locker room the team is in happens to be the girl's locker room. David Morse's character lives above a vacuum place downtown. The hospital in the movie used to actually be the old Colombus hospital, but is now a office building.The twins in the movie (Matt and Paul Pippinich), I went to school with for 7 years, and that old orange truck is theirs. Matt played clarinet in a dixieland jazz band.When I saw this movie at the Wilma theater in Missoula, MT, one of the directors was there to answer questions. He said that they chose Great Falls (pop. approx. 60,000) for shooting "because it was sort of the town that time forgot." In some ways, this is true, but the city is not as run down and rural as it appears in the movie.Overall, I found myself enjoying this movie more for the "hey, I know him!" or "I lived 2 miles from there" situations. While this wasn't a movie that I would want to watch repeatedly, I still highly suggest it for rental. It's more than just a "sports" movie.Also, a stellar soundtrack that makes the movie that much better.

This is not a movie that will make one feel warm inside or good about humanity. The motives of the characters, and their actions, are often disturbing. But I found a great deal to appreciate in the effort that the writer and the actors brought to this. Along the lines of "Chuck and Buck" or the "Good Girl" in it's power to stay with you and make you think about people and things you mightnot want to! I saw a film today called "Igby Goes Down" with A list stars and a relatively high budget that was extremely pompous and made no effort tocommunicate. This small film easily outshines it on every level. I grew up in rural South Dakota and Minnesota and football is that serious a business there, and there are as many disturbing elements and people around this "heartland" asanywhere else. Extra thanks to Ryan Gosling (who has been good in everythingso far) David Morse and Clea DuVall for their great efforts here.