God's Pocket
Dir: John Slattery
2014
***
John Slattery's feature debut isn't perfect but I believes he makes up for most of his mistakes. The film was criticised on release for its poor balance of comedy and serious drama which I think is a little unfair as it really isn't a comedy and nor does it ever attempt to be one. There are elements of the story that may raise the same reaction a joke would but this is down to the film's shock element more than anything, it's not even like you could class it as a dark comedy either although it is still quite dark. If irreverence is funny then it's laugh a minute, it's very much a film about a certain place and a certain collective attitude of the people who live there, God's Pocket as it is known, an area of Philadelphia. The story is based on a book by local journalist Pete Dexter who is also written into the film and played brilliantly by Richard Jenkins. This element of the story is a little unhinged, especially the scene with Christina Hendrick's grieving mother character but it work in a way to highlight certain other character's traits. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the role well, even if it isn't written that well and support is strong from John Turturro and Eddie Marsan who are always good. Overall I was pleasantly surprised, it's a quirky one for sure but I thought it was rewarding, especially for a film that didn't really have an obvious place to end.