Edward Faggen

This is an engrossing film about a family's struggles with addiction and mental illness as told by the young man who lived it. It is well told, well-acted and directed. Despite its difficult subject matter, I believe that adult audiences will like this film. It should get Oscar consideration. I am baffled by some of the professional reviewers who seem to be criticizing Ron Howard for not making the movie that they wanted him to make, some sweeping socio-economic statement about Appalachia, and how the elites have mistreated it. Well, that is not the movie he made. He made a film about one family in Appalachia, a family that is not intended to emblematic of Appalachia or anything else. And I think that he did it very well. Ignore the critics; see this film.