Answers to Nothing

Plot synopsis:
Against the backdrop of a child abduction case the film follows five days in the life of a variety of people living in Los Angeles. Kate (Mitchell) is a lawyer arguing in a custody battle on behalf of Drew (Bailey) who cares for her completely disabled brother. He was an accomplished marathoner. After celebrating his top 30% finish in the San Francisco marathon, the two had drinks to celebrate, and an accident in the car ride home caused the brother's disability. Her parents want their son put in a home, but Drew's overwhelming guilt compels her to tend to her brother. She is training to run a marathon while pushing her brother in a wheelchair. After losing custody of her brother, she loses heart and drinks some whiskey the night before the race. During the race, memories of the accident overwhelm her, and she crashes her brother's wheelchair into a curb. Her fall dislocates her shoulder, but she decides to finish the race regardless of the fact that all the other runners have gone home.
Kate is struggling to conceive with her husband Ryan (Cook), who is a psychologist. Ryan is having an affair with a singer named Tara (Volkman). At the same time, he struggles to convince his mother (Hershey) that his father is never returning from France, after nine years away. Ryan grows increasingly conflicted over his affair, and on Tara's birthday, he is unable to climax with her. At a fertility clinic, Kate sees a romantic text message from Tara on Ryan's phone right before she goes under anesthesia. Ryan struggles to produce a sperm sample in the clinic, and he has to call Tara to climax. Finally, when Tara is playing Club Tatou in Westlake, Ryan sits in the parking lot, unsure of what to do. He drives home and calls his father in France. His father refuses to tell his mother the truth, which convinces Ryan of what to do. He goes inside to comfort Kate, who has found out that the IV treatment did not work, but she is relieved that Ryan has come home to her.
One of Ryan's patients is a young, African-American TV writer (Hawk), who picks up a young man (Gilford) from her neighborhood, but on their first date, she confesses that she "hates black people". Ryan urges her to work through her identity issues by doing something nice to people who make her uncomfortable.
The main detective (Benz) on the abduction case is a single mother and Kate's best friend. She initially suspects the young girl's neighbor, Beckworth (Germann), of taking her, but when porn is found on the father's computer, he becomes the main person of interest. The media coverage attracts the interest of Carter, a lonely school teacher (Kelly) who spends his free time playing Everquest 2. As the days drag on, with the girl still missing, Carter finds himself unable to stay immersed in his game, and he eventually confronts his neighbor Jerry (Palladino), who everyone knows from around the neighborhood where he walks the beat in a policeman's uniform. Carter urges Jerry to confront the neighbor. When Jerry urges Carter to go back to his apartment and let the police handle it, Carter drives off determined to actually do something.
At the Beckworth's house, Carter is trying to get up the nerve to ring the doorbell when Jerry arrives and begs him to leave. Beckworth comes to the door and grows indignant as he realizes what is going on. Carter flies into a rage and attacks Beckworth. After Jerry separates them, Beckworth produces a gun and starts shooting at the intruders. Jerry manages to kill Beckworth with a fire poker but not before getting shot in the neck. As he dies, he tells Carter to flee, and he manages to flip up a rug, exposing a handle to a trap door. Carter watches the news coverage back at home, and learns that Beckworth had kept the girl alive in a soundproof room in his basement.

Tags: comedy, flashback

Review:
Writer/director Matthew Leutwyler manages to challenge the concentration and intellect and attention span of the viewer in this non-linear and ultimately satisfying intertwining of stories that examine the bad in the best of us and the good in the worst of us.
Against the backdrop of a child abduction case (person of interest is next door neighbor Beckworth (Greg Germann) we follow five days in the life of Frankie, a single parent detective (Julie Benz) assigned to the case, her best friend Kate (Elizabeth Mitchell) whose determination to get pregnant keeps her from confronting Ryan (Dane Cook) her psychologist husband's infidelity with rock singer Tara (Aja Volkman) while he is attempting to reconcile his parents (his fragile mother played by Barbara Hershey) long separation, an on-line video game addicted school teacher Carter (Mark Kelly) and his obsession with the missing child that pushes him to the edge of vigilantism, a beat cop Jerry (Erik Palladino) grieving over the violent death of his wife, Drew (Miranda Bailey) recovering addict and her wheel chair bound brother Erik (Vincent Vinteresca)preparing for the LA marathon, and Allegra (Kali Hawk), a self-loathing African American TV writer's search for love who happens to be a patient of Ryan's (and who is on the brink of a mixed courtships with a shy and likely virginal Evan played by Zack Gifford).
The string of stories asks us to look at their lives (and ours!) and to take action where it is needed to end injustice.The cast of characters is so strong that despite the rather confusing progress o the story we get to know each character very well.
This is one o those surprise films that appears on the surface to be one of those shallow/too much too fast director's egomaniacal art films, but by film's end the audience simply cannot fail to be touched in many different positive ways.
TMG says titles to movies can often be telling.
When I see a film, I want answers to at least one thing—like why I spent my time and money suffering through it.
If you are too happy for the holidays and just feel good about life in general, then go see this film.
If I want to be this depressed, I can take a handful of Valium and watch reruns of Nancy Pelosi speeches.Why so many movie producers and screen writers are just dying to load us all up with piles of depression, cynicism and angst is beyond me.
You simply have a depressed guy named Ryan (Cook) in a loathsome affair trying to gather sperm for his wife Kate (Mitchell) to have a baby and deal with her own, tragic inadequacies.
The most pointed line of the film is Ryan's estranged Dad advising him "In human relations, kindness and lies are worth a thousand truths." I think he was quoting the Bible according to Tammy Faye & Jim Baker.There was some hope because their is one subplot of a guy who kidnapped a young girl and an interesting twist that resolves that situation.
There is one funny scene of Allegra (not allergy medicine, thought this young black gal is sort of allergic to everyone for awhile) doing an obsessive-compulsive thing trying to sugar her ice tea through a straw.
I bet you anything a lot of mentally unstable people and a few manic, tree huggers around Boulder, Colorado or tripping down State Street in Madison, Wisconsin will proclaim this to be a great and inspirational film.
I have been weary of ensemble dramas like this since the manipulative'Crash', but I felt the director and cast did a superb job and the emotion really builds to something tangible and rewarding.
The singer Aja Volkman of 'Nico Vega'provides an emotional charge right through the film and Mad Men actor Mark Kelly gives a great turn as a gamer/High School teacher out for justice.
Great film - highly recommended..
I voted 10, to increase the score of the movie, although I think is a clear 8.If you think movies about real people, real problems and damaged people are not your thing, please don't watch this movie.This movie is amazing in characterizing several kinds of people, is so replete of so many different styles and personalities.
All of them has a different role and all of them is extremely important.I would not like to say much, because I will spoil the movie, but maybe the reason the movie is so hateful, is because people see them in some of the character and hate themselves...Just pay attention to the details and you will have the answer to EVERYTHING..
i like a movie to move me in some way - to make me laugh, make me cry ...
to make me FEEL something for the characters.this movie did just that.
but this movie deserves much more than the 3 stars that it has right now on IMDb.lives crossing paths, zig-zagging and enmeshing one another.
these people have to face theirs - and this is the story of those lives coming to terms and facing the reality of their existence.i rated this movie high because i wanted it to move up in the ratings.
Dane Cook did a great job in this dramatic role, Elizabeth Mitchell is always fantastic ..
Coming in to this movie, I thought it was going to be multiple peoples stories that all come together at the climax of the film.
I felt like the movie was building up to the climax of them all impacting the finding the missing girl, but this is not the case.
Only about 4 characters, out of a dozen, impact what could be called the climax, and I feel like the 4 that do had the least screen time.
Overall, if you get invested into each and every character, the movie maintains interest.
I would have rather seen each characters' story as its own short film rather than thrown into this hodgepodge of lives.
If you enjoy movies like Crash or a much darker version of that comedy Valentine's Day, then you might like this.
PS: Dane Cook gives a surprisingly great performance..
There were some really great performances from people I didn't expect, namely Dane Cook.
It was a sort of a slow story that was all building to the twists at the end.
It felt like Crash or other movies where all of these random stories collide in dramatic ways.
Like when the amazing Elizabeth Mitchell buys baby clothes and stuffed animals and can't tell the check out lady she doesn't have a child.
Good movie if you want something a bit on the dark side..
Dane Cook is not someone I would normally peg as a great actor but this guy has the chops.
I didn't even think about it being Dane Cook at all the whole film.
However, this film is not just about Dane Cook's storyline his is only one of many which is one of the reasons I liked the film so much.
There are about 5 different main characters which you follow as you watch the film and they all intersect through out the movie.
The movie moves smoothly from scene to scene and there is a big climax at the end that I wasn't expecting.
There is some great acting talents in this film.
Answers to Nothing is a complicated tapestry of seemingly disparate threads that ultimately come together in moving and honest ways.
All of the actors do a tremendous job bringing authenticity and conviction to their roles, especially Dane Cook and Mark Kelly.
There are so many emotional states present in this film - many of which are constantly shifting and evolving - and the result is a truthful meditation on the hard work it takes to live with honesty and commitment.
I highly recommend this film - since it has aspects of many different genres and has so many unique characters, there's something in it for everyone..
A wonderful but slow moving movie that will leave you thinking about it long after you watch it.
"I'm buried in the armor, I'm an iron man." After a child is abducted this movie deals with the following five days and a group of people including the single mom who is investigating the case.
Her sister (Mitchell) who wants to get pregnant badly but her husband (Cook) is cheating on her.
An alcoholic who is taking care of her wheel chair bound brother and a self hating black woman who wants to fall in love.
Very slow moving in some parts and not a happy movie at all.
Dane Cook is a huge surprise in this role and is actually a very good dramatic actor.
This movie shows how each person is somehow intertwined in each other's lives and how one life effects the other.
Overall, the type of movie that leaves you thinking about it long after it is over.
Each actor does a fantastic job, with the exception of Dane Cook, who I think had a calculated somewhat forced performance.
I highly recommend it to anyone, especially if you feel like your life is stagnant and needs some motivation..
I usually do not like multiple character study movies.
Most movies without a focal character lose my interest quickly.
Dane Cook is very believable--and I have to say I was very surprised when the in the movie his profession was revealed.
So for the characters alone--which means good writing, this is an excellent movie..
I can't help but believe that somewhere within "Answers to Nothing" is the great film I very much wanted it to be.
Told as a series of interweaving subplots linked together by a single event, it touches on a number of issues that are both fascinating and compelling, including infidelity, recovery, loss, intolerance, love, faith, and strength of character.
It features a decent cast, led by Dane Cook in his first dramatic role since the deliciously enjoyable 2007 crime thriller "Mr. Brooks." It had, in short, all the right ingredients.
Unfortunately, the film falls victim to indecisive editing, character overload, implausible dramatic situations, and surprisingly unconvincing dialogue.
All of this rests squarely on the shoulders of director Matthew Leutwyler, who's also the co-writer and editor.Taking place in Los Angeles, we meet a plethora of characters whose lives are in some way touched by the disappearance of a young girl.
There's Frankie, the detective assigned to the case (Julie Benz); although she has yet to prove it, she seems convinced that the girl's neighbor, Beckworth (Greg Germann), is responsible for her disappearance.
Frankie's friend, an attorney named Kate (Elizabeth Mitchell), is attempting to get pregnant through in vetro fertilization.
So badly does she want a baby that she initially fails to see then turns a blind eye to the infidelity of her husband, a therapist named Ryan (Cook).
The only way he knows that she loves him is because he believes her when she tells him so.We now branch out further into subplots that are either (a) so distantly related to the child abduction subplot that they seem to belong in another movie, or (b) are so badly developed that they should not have been included in the first place.
Kate's current client is a recovering alcoholic named Drew (Miranda Bailey), who's fighting her parents for custody of her brother, Erik (Vincent Ventresca), a former runner who's now a vegetable.
He has also, for reasons known only the filmmakers, become obsessed by the missing girl case.Then there's Ryan's patient, a self-loathing black woman named Allegra (Kali Hawk).
In due time, we see him scanning the obituaries and attending very specific funerals.Inevitably, some will compare this film to Paul Haggis' "Crash," in which Los Angeles is the setting for several interweaving stories that address social issues.
Certain scenes seem to have been included for purposes no greater than creating drama, most notably an unprovoked and unbelievable confrontation between Carter and Beckworth late in the film.
An interesting character study set in Los Angeles.
Its hard to get past the idea of Dane Cook as a psychoanalyst/psychologist and leading man.
The most moving story and interactions in this film involved Drew (Miranda Bailey), Erik (Vincent Ventresca), and Kate (Elizabeth Mitchell).
Maybe a little bit expected for the critically jaded movie audiences, but a moving portrayal of struggle and victory none-the-less.
Barbra Hershey fans will enjoy her appearance as she plays a small role as Ryan's (Dane Cook) mom.
This film has its moments of entertainment but also lives up to its title.
A nihilistic drama that tries to deliver a happy ending; a conflicted movie.
Its an existential kidnapping mystery movie with careless affairs thrown in for good measure, and an odd mix of self-loathing that will surprise you..
I absolutely love films with intertwining stories that eventually connect in some way.
I enjoy watching films and playing a sort of "Where's Waldo" game while I try and spot the ties and connections between the characters.
This film did not disappoint me with its intertwining stories.
The characters in this film are mainly connected by the disappearance of a young girl in Los Angeles, then, the plots and subplots sort of branch off from this main story.
The characters are all dealing with real issues, raw issues that are somewhat deep and dark, but still relatable.
Although the film plays out pretty wonderfully, it is kind of a downer.
Although the film starts off a little slow, the individual tales of each character quickly propels the story onward and eventually wraps up with a killer ending..
I would be curious to see what her real life is like seeing how well she played her character.
I don't think that Dane Cook's performance was too shabby as well.
This is a movie does a good job of showing us what is really important and how easy we get caught up in things that only seem important but in fact may not be.
This is what we call a major league indy plot with loosely connected characters...intertwine is the phrase they like to use to make it sound artsy.
Her friend Kate (Elizabeth Mitchell) is the sweetest thing this side of candy, and she is married to a psychologist Ryan (Dane Cook) who lies and cheats.
There is also a rock band, the woman Ryan is cheating with, a rookie cop, and a teacher so obsessed with the missing girl, that it screws up his on-line video role playing game.The film builds up multiple characters in a mostly boring fashion.
It isn't until the climatic ending that you begin to feel you have just seen a decent film.
This film reminded me in many ways of another indie, "Garden Party." If you don't like one story or character, wait it will change.
The acting was exceptionally good, however a story being all over the place is not everyone's cup of tea.
As a vignette film it spends just enough time on each character so that you still get to know what is going on in each situation.
Not too much time is spent so you forget the rest of the characters, and it is all interconnected in some way.
Deep and poignant, each character is looking for something to fill the void that was left in their lives, like many peoples lives today.
The characters are each trying so hard for something that is wanted so badly in each of their lives and seeking to overcome those obstacles.
Dane Cook does an amazing job at something we aren't all used to normally seeing him do.
Answers to nothing is a film about the fragility of life and relationships.
I would recommend this film to anyone who wants a film to make them feel, Answers to Nothing is one for you..
Films that depend on the interlocking of different story lines are always treading on dangerous terrains.
The seminal film that proves this is Paul Haggis's highly overrated film "Crash," where various story lines and characters intersect each other in the heart of Los Angeles, by way of chance and coincidence, makes the film a shallow and misinformed reading of racism.
Similarly, "Answers to Nothing" falls victim to such a narrative ploy, While I give the film credit for not wholly attempting to shamelessly delve into racial politics, but like "Crash," it fails to say much about anything.
The film's protagonist Ryan, played by Dane Cook, is caught in the terrain of uncertainty through his infidelity.
Carter is an elementary school teacher who is the moral compass of the film, even though he spends most of his free time playing MMO games.
Allegra, a beautiful African- American woman, sees a therapist because she hates "black people." There are more characters and story lines than I can count, all somehow insignificantly connected to the other.
While it is better than "Crash," in that it doesn't rely on the idea of coincidence and chance to propel the story and affect the characters, it is still direction-less and hollow.
The characters try hard in becoming empathetic but the story offers little to relate.
The only meaningful character in the film, which so happens to be tied to the missing girl, is Carter.
I commend the film for attempting this type of narrative.
Like "Crash," it is set in Los Angeles.
great movie.
as you watch the movie look for the theme of "a thousand lies and kindness are worth more than the truth." The movie moves easily between the lives of the characters that are randomly interconnected.
However as I think back on the movie, I actually think about Henry IV, Part One, where few lines or events do not relate back to a central theme.
And that is just one reason why this movie deserves a high recommendation.
Once again, we loved this movie and told our friends to watch it, (with a warning that we thought the opening scene sucked.)