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LONESOME JIM Send This Review to a Friend
The Jim of “Lonesome Jim” is as the title advertises. Played by Casey Affleck, he is unhappy, phlegmatic and depressed. Life in New York in pursuit of a writing career didn’t work out, so we meet him when he has headed back to the family home in a rural part of Indiana. His older brother Tim (Kevin Corrigan) is even more frustrated and screwed up than he is, and the family is generally dysfunctional.
Mom, whose name is Sally and portrayed by Mary Kay Place, maintains a jovial façade that masks her dissatisfaction with life, and dad, named Don and played by Seymour Cassel, is angry at Jim and browbeats him to go into the small family manufacturing business. That’s where Sally’s brother, a slovenly creep named Evil (Mark Boone, Junior) works and secretly deals in drugs.
The one bright spot is Jim’s meeting with Anika who is on her own with a young son. Liv Tyler plays her, and Jim doesn’t realize at first how lucky he is. Tyler is beautiful even in her unglamorous role, and Anika is sexually aggressive, which somewhat overwhelms Jim. Will their relationship open doors for both? They talk about starting a new life in New Orleans. (Little did they know.)
Such is the drama that has been directed by Steve Buscemi (“Trees Lounge”) from a screenplay by James C. Strouse. Buscemi succeeds in creating a downbeat, easygoing atmosphere that reflects the malaise afflicting the characters. Call it an air of truthfulness, but the result is so bleak that one can respect the film without enjoying it very much.
Mary Kay Place does an especially fine job of acting as Sally, capturing the split personality of trying to be affable all the time, yet making it obvious that she is hurting and that there could be more to her life than exists within the confines of her family and work. Tyler does well with her understated role that requires her to project her unfulfilled potential. Corrigan is effective as the brother whose own aspirations are at a dead end and who takes a drastic, plot-propelling action after Jim lays out the reality to him. Buscemi’s direction is right on target, given the story he has chosen to dramatize. An IFC Films release.
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