A Masterpiece of acting, writing, directing, and storytelling

Rating: 9/10 (16 February 2012)

I am speechless! I have not seen a film so moving since Secretariat. (What a disgrace to the academy that neither of these films was even nominated for best picture two years running, even though they now have 10 nominees to get it right!) Tom Hardy and Nick Nolte shine brilliantly. Hardy is so intense and filled with seething rage and hatred, while at the same time we can detect a yearning to love and be loved if someone dares to break through all the walls he has erected around his life. What a multi-layered performance! Nick Nolte will rip every father and son's heart clean out (and most everyone else's too) with his wonderful performance as Paddy. But the real star here is the story itself. Flawless camera work, film editing, script writing, and casting have all come together to tell this magnificent story of family, heartbreak, desperation, forgiveness, hope, and triumph of the genuine human spirit.