Steven Soll

My wife and I only got about 1/3 of the way through the film and decided to stop watching because 1) it was exceedingly slow to develop as a story other than watching two 13-year-olds who are inseparable gaze into each other's eyes and otherwise act like an older couple who are in love, 2) had too many repetitive scenes of the boys riding on their bicycles through gorgeous countryside (over and over again), and 3) overall had the feel of a young gay child soft porn film. Although the two lead actors were very appealing and compelling, the story and presentation seem totally cliché ridden. After I stopped watching, I read some of the reviews and now know the balance of the story, which I will not mention so as to not provide any spoilers. That said, it didn't convince me that I made a mistake in turning it off.

Too long and with the melodrama starting from the first minute of the movie, tension can't be sustained so basically tension doesn't build, just flat lines. Good acting and cast.

Cliché dialogue and characters, poor acting (even Bridges and Lithgow are parroting themselves), silly overextended violence, and drawn out scenes that act only as fillers, pretty much summarizes the first two episodes. The over the top melodramatic background score is both a distraction and a substitute for any actual tension. Although we stopped watching after the second episode, reviews that I read that said later episodes are disappointing only confirmed our response to this disappointing show.

If good acting, phony scenery, mellow dramatic violin music, close-ups of people, grass and animals with a story and pace that is like watching grass grow, this is a movie you will love. I’m not sure all “art“ films need to be highly reviewed or presented as a stroke of genius (or lack thereof if you don’t like it). Too much pop for too little bang. If it were done by an unknown Director, rather than a famous one, it would be panned.

Pretentious, overproduced, too long, great acting. Thought about stopping a number of times but stuck with it to see how it all ended. Wasn’t worth it.