THUMBSUCKER
Directed & Written by: Mike Mills, based on the novel by Walter Kirn.
Produced by: Anthony Bregman & Bob Stephenson.
Director of Photography: Joaquín Baca-Asay.
Edited by: Haines Hall & Angus Wall.
Music by: Tim DeLaughter.
Released by: Sony Pictures Classics.
Country of Origin: USA. 94 min. Rated: R.
With: Lou Pucci, Tilda Swinton, Vince Vaughn, Vincent D'Onofrio, Keanu Reeves, Benjamin Bratt, Kelli Garner & Chase Offerle.

Lou Pucci gives a solid performance as Justin Cobb, a 17-year-old who still sucks his thumb. The film does not delve into the history behind his behavior. Instead, it centers on the present and the various directions of Justin's journey to maturity. Through parental conversations and confrontations, sexual awakenings, hypnotic treatment, and prescription medication, Justin finds himself navigating his way to greater self-assurance and acceptance, while slowly recognizing those around him are similarly lost, insecure, or dependent.

His middle-aged mother, Audrey (Tilda Swinton), hopes to give her life some spark and new meaning by entering a contest to win a date with television celebrity Matt Schramm (Benjamin Bratt). Justin's father, Mike (Vincent D'Onofrio), is a former jock still smarting from a career-crippling knee injury. Rebecca (Kelli Garner), the apple of Justin's eye, reveals her emotional handicap when it comes to true romance, while their debate team teacher, Mr. Geary (Vince Vaughn), is more anxious about competing than are his students. And lastly, Justin's orthodontist (Keanu Reeves) probes the meaning of life by trying out the latest spiritual self-help techniques.

Most all of the actors turn in fine performances. Unfortunately, Bratt is given too brief a scene with too much thematic weight to make room for nuance, and Reeves' portrayal of the guru-orthodontist displays an appropriate self-importance, but occasionally does so with a pointed eccentricity that raises the question why anyone would go to him in the first place.

The theme of progressive self-awareness is played out in separate, disjointed chapters that could become their own full-length films. These distinct story lines evolve abruptly and make an interesting story feel long and disproportionately rendered. Nevertheless, Pucci upliftingly conveys a boy's coming of age. Similar to the more cohesive Almost Famous, the characters in Thumbsucker help to support the notion that self-realization, twists of circumstance, and falls from grace are not solely confined to the realm of teenage angst. Max Rennix, actor & writer based in New York
September 16, 2005