You Can Count On Me is about a brother and a sister, once inseparable as children, now practically strangers. She is dating a nice but dull man she doesn't really love, but keeps him around for the company. Her life is neat and orderly, without any wrinkles. She is, if not profoundly, at least superficially happy.
Terry is a drifter who hops around from job to job, with the occasional jail stint in-between.
That same tension works itself out in perfectly believable, but surprising, ways. Can Count on Me , which marks the filmmaking debut of playwright Kenneth Lonergan, is how deftly the movie captures the awkwardness and discomfort between siblings who, on their way to adulthood, lost everything they once had in common. Can Count on Me shows how family ties can be the most difficult to maintain, but also the most rewarding. Lonergan writes clear, simple dialogue that captures the way real people talk. True to his theater roots, Lonergan shot You Can Count on Me in a simple, direct style, making his actors the true stars of the show.