Acidman

This film is what would remain if you deleted all the spaceships from “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”: the tale of a once ordinary man beset by an unworldly thirst that he can neither explain nor quench.

Though not without its flaws, this resonant, resourceful indie drama leaves a gentle imprint on audiences’ souls.

In this all too straight-forward drama, Church, an actor perfectly ripened for this role, gives one of the best performances of his career.

Acidman has no heroes or villains, despite having a name that sounds like an unknown Marvel character. Relationships are the battleground here. People are at their best and their worst when they’re fighting for the things they love.

It’s an intimate two-hander that takes patience from the viewer, but pays off with a feeling of gentle authenticity.

The stars are superb, which makes the film a winner.

Acidman might have been better as a short film. Except for a few emotionally charged moments, this tepid drama about an adult daughter reconnecting with her estranged reclusive father is dragged down by dull and listless scenes.

I've been saying it for years: Actor Thomas Haden Church is cinema's hidden weapon—a full-fledged, mega-movie-star waiting to happen. "Acidman" is some of his best work.

Acidman’s sci-fi angle is just one of several ideas it refuses to capitalize on, instead hewing to a tenor of quiet character-focused seriocomedy that arrives at no melodramatic or even emotional “big finish.”

Rare is the film that refuses to moralize the actions of its characters, and boy, does this make Acidman refreshing.