The Hollars (2016)

The Hollars (2016) The Hollar family is really endearing! An excellent film… which I don’t think I can fault in the slightest. It took me through all sorts of emotions: excitement, irritation, and joy. I also felt tears welling up a couple of times. The story is touching. There’s a fair amount of sadness, some annoying moments, but also hope, and the ending didn’t leave me wanting more.

Let’s go for the actors: John Krasinski directed the film, and if this is his first, he started with a masterpiece. Unfortunately, the more films he’s made, the worse they are. In fact, he made the two “A Quiet Place” (translated as “Without a sound” in French!) movies immediately afterwards, in which he also played the lead role. Here, he plays the son who doesn’t live very close to his parents and brother. He gives the impression of having run away, but at the same time, he seems to be the son with the best head on his shoulders.

His wife is played by Anna Kendrick, who is an actress of some renown… who I don’t know, actually. I think I really discovered her here, and she has a very nice role. She’s not the person you drink the most, but she plays the ideal future woman, very open-minded, but with her fears and hang-ups.

Sharlto Copley is an actor I knew I’d seen somewhere before. But District 9 hadn’t made much of an impression on me, so it wasn’t from there. It took me a little while to remember that it was in the A-Team film where he played the captain H. M. Murdock, alias « Looping ». I really liked him. Here, he plays the son who’s always getting into trouble, despite the fact that he’s more of a teenager—the one who comes back to live with his parents while getting fired from Dad’s company. At the same time, he has never gotten over his separation from his ex-wife, Ashley Dyke (who is back together with a very sympathetic pastor played by Josh Groban), who has kept their two daughters.

Margo Martindale is terrific in the role of the mother who is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Her performance is as perfect as the film itself. She is operated on by the surgeon played by Randall Park. Richard Jenkins is another actor I don’t know. I know he became famous thanks to the series “Six Feet Under”, which I never watched. He plays Margo’s husband, who is shocked and overwhelmed by the events, and also overwhelmed by his emotions when faced with his two sons.

Charlie Day is apparently mainly a comic actor who has appeared in a number of series, but has also done drama and dubbed cartoons. He’s not very well known, it seems to me, although he works a lot. And finally, Mary Elizabeth Winstead! She plays Charlie Day’s wife. She had a child with him, but is still in love with her ex, director and lead actor (as luck would have it!) John Krasinski. She’s one of my favorite actresses, and she’s the one who got me to see this film, even though we don’t see her for more than 5 minutes. But every one of her appearances is an event for her fans.

That’s it! A feature film that’s a real pleasure to see, for those who don’t just watch horror, action, thrillers, porn, and so on! It goes through all the phases of everyday life, in its difficult moments, but also in its lighter moments.