Can Count on Me was in theatres about four months ago and wasn't scheduled to be released on video any time soon. Fortunately, Pavillion Place theatre in Roseville brought the film back because of the Oscar nominations and I am very grateful they did. The film begins with a car accident. I'm not giving anything away because this literally happens in the first 30 seconds. Next we see what I think might have been the most powerful scene in cinema this year.
Police arrive at a door to talk to a babysitter.
What follows is why film can be such a powerful medium. Scriptwriter and director Ken Lonergan recognizes that film is a visual medium that does not always require words to convey meaning. As the policeman tries to figure out what he is going to say, we see the babysitter quietly figure out why he must be there and what that means to the two children inside the house. Words would have seemed artificial in such a scene. The silence is far more real than any words could have been.