Daddy Longlegs (2010)

Featured Audience Ratings

• William D

  
  "Daddy Longlegs" (aka "Go Get Some Rosemary") is a hand-made, ultra-New York film reminiscent of Azazel Jacobs's "Momma's Man" (2008). Both films are extremely authentic, capturing astonishingly well the feeling of living in Manhattan. But both… More
  "Daddy Longlegs" (aka "Go Get Some Rosemary") is a hand-made, ultra-New York film reminiscent of Azazel Jacobs's "Momma's Man" (2008). Both films are extremely authentic, capturing astonishingly well the feeling of living in Manhattan. But both films suffer from an aimless and flaccid quality. There's just not enough drama or insight to keep "Daddy Longlegs" interesting. Watching ordinary people struggle with ordinary things is simply not exciting after about 30 minutes. Ronald Bronstein does give an unforgettable performance as the Dad who is overflowing with love but can't quite become a grown-up. From what I've read, Joshua and Ben Safdie made the film as a tribute to their real-life father, who had custody of them for just two weeks a year. I could see why the Safdie boys would find those two weeks with their crazy Dad so memorable. The film starts beautifully, with actual footage of them dancing in the living room with Dad during one of these visits. But you immediately get the sense of how Dad was a bit unhinged. Why did he have to be nearly naked while dancing with his young sons? The dancing is adorable. And the boys are obviously enraptured by their Dad. But why do it in only a pair of thin boxers? As we later learn, Dad also had boyfriends and girlfriends sleeping over during their two-week stays. Why couldn't he put his dalliances on hold just for the two weeks when the boys were visiting? I'm sure Josh and Ben Safdie have been asking themselves such questions for years. There is a harrowing scene involving sleeping pills, the details of which I won't give away. But for the most part we watch Dad struggle to do things like get a babysitter so he can do a late-shift at work or go out on a date. As remarkable as Bronstein is as an actor, the tedium does start to wear thin.

• Glenn G

  
  *INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINEE - BEST ACTOR and JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD* This is a deeply unsettling film about a manic, terrible father who thinks it's more important to be your child's friend instead of a parent. Constantly in motion, always late, never thinking… More
  *INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINEE - BEST ACTOR and JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD* This is a deeply unsettling film about a manic, terrible father who thinks it's more important to be your child's friend instead of a parent. Constantly in motion, always late, never thinking clearly, making awful choices, Ronald Bronstein gives a fantastic performance in a part that would be unforgivable is less-able hands. Think Modern Family's Phil (Ty Burrell) if he were divorced from Claire, moved to a New York studio apartment, and had custody of the kids for only 2 weeks a year. Even for that short period of time, he still can't get it together. One sequence in particular, when he devises a terrible solution to leaving the kids home alone, goes so wrong, I was filled with a horrible feeling of dread. This is a Dad with the worst decision-making process EVER! Worse than DeNiro in THIS BOY'S LIFE. Worse than Darth Vader! Worse than the Godfather! Shot verite-style, the movie hurtles you along with Bronstein's ADD character as he juggles a girlfriend, a movie projectionist job, a justifiably enraged ex-wife, a trick, and weary neighbors, all while trying to take care of his two boys. Although he has a light spirit, which proves sweet and funny at times, he just seems like a guy who should NEVER be allowed unsupervised around his kids. Obviously that's the point here, so I don't mean to get all pedantic about it. Some people are just this desperate and crazy, and this movie tells us this in all it's crazy, loopy, fly-on-the-wall glory.

• Jeff T

  
  With an engaging and disquieting mix of charm and unease, this mublecore-ish indie is the antidote to every Hollywood feel-good dad-learns-how-to-be-a-parent movie. Dad, in this case, is kind of a lovable loser, and he seems simultaneously madly in love with his kids and absolutely… More
  With an engaging and disquieting mix of charm and unease, this mublecore-ish indie is the antidote to every Hollywood feel-good dad-learns-how-to-be-a-parent movie. Dad, in this case, is kind of a lovable loser, and he seems simultaneously madly in love with his kids and absolutely unequipped to spend a single moment with them. What separates this flick from its like-minded cohorts is its total refusal to make it easy or resolve it for our comfort. At turns funny and squirmy, by the time it inches to its conclusion it's hard to pinpoint your feelings for it (or, more to the point, to him; because this is a character study, and it's not the kids under the microscope). Its entertainment value depends on how much you can keep up with those shifting feelings.