Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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Age Out is the kind of film which throws everything and the kitchen sink at its lead, making you wish it dialed back just a little bit.
| Directed By | A.J. Edwards | |
| Written By | A.J. Edwards | |
| Date Released (Video On Demand) | 11/22/2019 | |
| Genre(s) | Drama | |
| Noted Cast | ||
| Richie | Tye Sheridan | |
| Joan | Imogen Poots | |
| Swim | Caleb Landry Jones | |
Plot Summary/ Review
With becoming 18 and having no desire to continue living in the children’s home or get his GED, Richie ventures to live on his own and find a means of survival. This, of course, is hard for someone without any parental involvement or family to provide some form of a safety net. But, luckily, Richie is a hard worker, so between a construction job and landlady who is willing to work with him, he finds a place to live that isn’t the streets.
And for a moment, things seem manageable. He makes a friend in Swim, a nice girl named Joan, but then his life goes to hell one day at a time.
Collected Quote(s) or .Gifs
College is not for everybody, but education is.
— Instructor
Fear: False Expectations Appearing Real.
— Instructor
I don’t hate you, but I hate what you did to me.
— Joan
Highlights
It Sucks You In Based Off The Strength Of Characters Rather Than Sympathy
Between a character who is essentially an orphan, Joan’s varied troubles that give her insomnia, and Swim, a friend of Richie, also having his own issues, the film could have easily tried to get you interested due to sympathy. However, rather than do that, it allows the actors to build a case, through character development, for you to give a damn about who they are portraying.
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When it comes to Richie, could they have played up him not having anyone, and that leading to yelling and screaming, crying because how hard it is to survive alone? Yes. However, this isn’t that kind of movie. Richie is the put his head down, work, roll with the punches, and when good things happen, enjoy them while they last because it isn’t guaranteed they will last forever.
Following him, Joan may seem down, possibly listening to the ref count to ten and wonder if it is worth even trying to get it, but there remains some form of hope, and you see that in her interactions with Richie. It is through him you see her find a reason to trust another person, maybe like and befriend them, perhaps even love. This helps you understand, as the movie comes to an end, why her feelings are so complicated.
Joan and Richie’s Relationship
But, at the same time, it is through their relationship you get the best parts of this film. In fact, there will probably be times you wished this film was just about him finding a sense of belonging, worth, maybe even love, through her, and that being the focus of the film. Then, in return, after what she went through, her not only regaining a sense that she can love again but also be our medium to help understand what people like Richie go through when they age out without a forever family.
On The Fence
Swim
Here is the thing, Swim is interesting, but he is also someone who stirs up drama and the kind of madness which feels like it distracts from the film more than adds to it. So as much as you’ll come to like him and the adventures he forces Richie into, at the same time there will be points you wish his influence wasn’t so strong.
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Overall
Met Expectations
Yes and no. In terms of what it is like to age out and deal with not being adopted, the film doesn’t really go into that, and that is a disappointment. Yet, what Poots brings to the film compensates for even though she doesn’t really get Richie to open up, she creates this romantic plot that was unexpected. Thus replacing what you signed up for with something you can still get into.
Would Watch Again?
Nope. Not because it is a bad movie, but it doesn’t necessarily delve into what it initially sells you, and while what you are given instead is fine, it doesn’t get to develop as you may like.
Rating: Positive (Worth Seeing)
I’ll put it to you this way, what this film does do well is show Sheridan and Poots as actors you should continue to keep an eye out for. However, while their performances deserve praise, I wouldn’t say the praise is at the level where you, if you’re not fans, must see this film.
Which leads to a rather awkward reason to why this is being labeled “Worth Seeing.” I would say, first off, it is because the numbers added up to that, and secondly, while the film delivers potential more so than a complete story you can come to love, it presents an excellent example of how some actors can work a story beyond the pitfalls of its script.
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