Tickling Leo (2009)

33% of critics liked it
(15 reviews)
40% of users liked it
(524 ratings)

In the days before Yom Kippur (aka the Day of Atonement), Zak Pikler takes his pregnant girlfriend, Delphina, to find his estranged father in the family drama Tickling Leo, written and directed by Jeremy Davidson. When they reach the man's home in the Catskills, Zak finds that his father has turned… More In the days before Yom Kippur (aka the Day of Atonement), Zak Pikler takes his pregnant girlfriend, Delphina, to find his estranged father in the family drama Tickling Leo, written and directed by Jeremy Davidson. When they reach the man's home in the Catskills, Zak finds that his father has turned into a hermit and is suffering from dementia. But the problems in the present only mask those in the past, causing his father to revisit the Holocaust and his escape from Hungary. Produced by actress and director Mary Stuart Masterson, Tickling Leo stars Daniel Sauli, Annie Parisse, Lawrence Pressman, and Eli Wallach. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Jeremy Davidson
Written By: Jeremy Davidson
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Sep 4, 2009 Wide
Studio: Barn Door Pictures

Critic Reviews

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
Although strongly acted and deeply felt, writer-director Jeremy Davidson's arcanely titled Tickling Leo is too theatrically conceived and diffusely told to satisfy its lofty aspirations.
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
Director Jeremy Davidson's father-son tale is refreshingly edgy and well-acted, but painfully obvious in almost every other way.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
The film's rich performances, in which every shade of every character's emotions registers, can go only so far to camouflage the glaring lapses in a drama that often confuses hints and allusions with coherent storytelling.
Doris Toumarkine, Hollywood Reporter
Director Davidson still shines with this modest production.
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger
Briefly in theaters now, Tickling Leo -- the title makes little sense -- will undoubtedly disappear quickly, only to have a faltering second life at small film festivals. You'll miss little if you pass it by.
John Anderson, Newsday
[Pressman's] performance ... as the increasingly demented poet and Holocaust survivor Warren Pikler, gives us the man Warren was, is and will be. It isn't easy, but like a long line drive, it's a great thing to watch.
Paul Brenner, Filmcritic.com
less an integrated film project than a collection of actors' audition tapes, high energy exercises that look impressive individually but compiled together in a film are nothing short of ridiculous.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
Ostensibly about Holocaust guilt, writer/director Jeremy Davidson's poorly scripted, filmed, and executed drama plays out like an unfinished low budget soap opera.
S. James Snyder, Time Out New York
Jeremy Davidson has the heart for a reconciliation drama -- but not the words.
Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal International
Impressive production and performances outweigh ambiguities in this low-budget Holocaust-themed contemporary drama...
Nora Lee Mandel, Film-Forward.com
In beautifully photographed settings, brings together an excellent cast, which almost overcomes the film's very labored themes, but an unconvincing debut feature.