Accidents Happen (2009)

I love this movie so much

Crappy film

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

It's 1982, and Billy Conway (Harrison Gilbertson) lives in a shattered family. Eight years ago, his family was in a car accident that killed his sister and made his brother a vegetable. His father has since left the family. His older brother is an angry drunk. His mother (Geena Davis) is struggling mightily to keep things together.The boy is an irresponsible destructive selfish brat. It is impossible to root for him. Certainly he makes it hard to find anything likable in his behavior. It is very tiring to watch this idiot destroy everything he touches. Geena Davis does get some great lines. In one superb scene, she almost saves the movie all by herself. She's really the only thing to watch this movie for.

Quite possibly the worst movie I've ever seen. Plot goes like this. Family driving in rain. Kid jumps around in car and causes accident. People die. Morbid stuff ensues. Pointless tangents abound. Some parts are so stupid it defies belief. In one part, he kills the father of his friend with a bowling ball then lies so the grieving family doesn't get the insurance money. The family who's father he just killed turn around, forgive him, then his friend enquires if he'll still be boinking his sister! I don't know why this movie ever got made. And what's with all the stupid slow-mo bits of emotionally torn teens flailing about in the rain? I hated this movie so much there is no way I'm spending any more time writing this. Be warned, this movie is a turd. Save yourself two hours of face-palm and avoid this mess at all costs.

Sydney director Andrew Lancaster did well to lure Geena Davis to our shores to star in Accidents Happen. I suspect he didn't have much hassle with a screenplay as biting and sharp as Brian Carbee's to use as bait. During a Q&A after the Australian premiere Davis herself admitted that she has always been drawn to interesting characters that challenge her; Gloria Conway definitely fits that mould. Carbee arms Gloria with acerbically humorous dialogue throughout – her quick wit a shield for the hurt that lies beneath – in addition to providing an idiosyncratic story about how different people cope with tragedy.It's hard to imagine someone else filling the lead role, Davis finds such a perfect blend of steeliness and vulnerability that she embodies Gloria completely. The non-spoken instances are given extra gravitas by the Oscar winning actress whilst Carbee's words are delivered pitch perfectly. At the other end of the age scale, the young Gilbertson (also seen in the recent Beneath Hill 60) is one to watch out for in the future. He almost runs away with the film as the emotionally-uncertain Billy, displaying a tremendous power in the dramatic scenes. Best of all, he and Davis share an excellent mother / son chemistry in the movie's most important personal connection, their dynamic relationship is a treat to watch.Kicking off his feature film CV, Lancaster has started strongly. His sturdy direction offers some memorable moments – the opening sequence comes way out of left field, but works all the better for it – although the slightly annoying 'Wonder Years' style voice-over probably could have been subdued. Lancaster demonstrates a terrific knack for slow motion; the aforementioned pre-credits sequence, the fateful car accident and a touching scene near the end all showcase the tremendous effect slow mo can have if used correctly. Hopefully this affecting little film marks the beginning of a long career for Lancaster.With a shamefully limited theatrical run in Oz, don't let this one slip you by: write it down to buy the DVD later this year.4 out of 5 (1 - Rubbish, 2 - Ordinary, 3 - Good, 4 - Excellent, 5 - Classic)

Accidents Happen is a chronicle of the dysfunctional Conway family. I managed to catch it at the Tribeca Film Festival. It begins as a flashback to 1974; 7 year old Billy Conway is watering the front lawn when their unsavory next-door-neighbor Mr. Smolensky (we're told that he was a no-good philanderer by a narrator) accidentally sets himself afire and dies while barbecuing. The scene is done in super slow-motion and is photographed impressively. Nonetheless the director makes the mistake of relying on a narrator to explain the back story for the first ten minutes of the film (the narrator is quite annoying).The second accident is also described through the narrator. The Conways are driving home after attending a drive-in movie when they're all involved in a car accident. The daughter is killed and another son, Gene, is left a vegetable in an irreversible coma.We then flash forward to 1982 where we're introduced to the present day Conway family. Billy doesn't get along with his brother, Larry, who has a drinking problem. Their mother Gloria (played by Geena Davis) constantly relies on foul-mouthed epithets to berate her children and is on the verge of divorce from Ray, the emotionally distant father.Billy ends up befriending Doug Post, a teenager who lives next door. Together they shoplift items from a convenience store while wearing nothing more than ski masks. When Billy rolls a bowling ball down the street, Doug's father swerves his car to avoid it and ends up dying in the ensuing car wreck. The police conclude that the father committed suicide because there were no skid marks. Billy and Doug finally confess that they were responsible for the accident but Gloria convinces the police that the teenagers had made up the story in order for the Post family to collect the insurance money.The film ends with the death of comatose brother Gene. His death leads to a catharsis for the two living brothers and both parents embrace them at the end signaling a new beginning for the family.The film's scenarist can't decide whether we should laugh or cry for the victims of all the accidents that happen in first half of the film. Are we watching a black comedy as the narrator cheerfully chronicles the demise of the hapless Smolensky? And what about the unfunny scene where the Post family friend pays an overly emotional, over-the-top condolence call to the family following Mr. Post's death in the car accident? While Gloria still pines away for her dead daughter and bemoans the fate of her comatose son, she's more the stuff of black comedy with her foul language and odd behavior. The same goes for Ray's ditsy fiancé who is depicted as completely lame-brained.I had even more trouble with the second half of Accidents Happen. Now we're asked to have sympathy for all these quirky characters who we've grown to dislike in the first half. We now understand why the teenagers were acting out—they were unable to connect with their emotions due to earlier traumas where either family members were killed or severely injured. Everything is forgiven when Billy and Larry are able to 'emote' after Gene's death. If only adolescent angst was so easily resolved in real life! In the end, 'Accidents Happen' wants to have it both ways. As a black comedy, it seeks to laugh at the dysfunctional characters who inhabit a dysfunctional universe. But then the film's scenarists reverse themselves—the loonies are not loonies after all; in fact they're all a bunch of sensitive souls! If you believe in such transformations, then perhaps I can also convince you to buy a share of the Brooklyn Bridge.