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One of my favorite aspects of Find Your Film is discovering movies that fellow cinephiles should watch. Sam & Kate tops my list on this week’s Find Your Film episode. Details on the feature, which stars Dustin Hoffman, Jake Hoffman, Sissy Spacek, and Schuyler Fisk, is in our post!
Directed and penned by Darren Le Gallo, Sam & Kate centers on the budding relationship of the titular characters (Jake Hoffman, Schuyler Fisk). Sam’s father Bill (Dustin Hoffman) is a widower with health problems and Kate’s mom Tina (Sissy Spacek) is a hoarder.
Check out our Find Your Film review of Sam & Kate on our YouTube Channel!
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Kate is initially reluctant to delve into a romantic involvement with Sam, a thirtysomething who is discontentedly working at a chocolate factory with his stoner buddy Ron (a scene stealing Henry Thomas).
Running at 110 minutes, Sam & Kate is an emotionally rich story about processing grief and caring for the ones you love. Family dramas can often traverse into maudlin territory, but Le Gallo refuses to litter his narrative with honey dripped cliches.
Hoffman and Fisk are fantastic as the adults who are trying to balance their fidelity to their respective parent while attempting to carve out their own lives. Casting Hoffman and Spacek as their parents may be deemed as stunt casting, but for this movie it absolutely works.
Most movies these days open up on VOD and Digital, and it’s refreshing to see a first rate story like Sam & Kate open in theaters. This is a movie that, if you love resonant and truthful family dramas, is worth checking out. Plus, Schuyler Fisk’s song “Life After” perfectly fits into the movie’s thematic fabric:
There are several emotionally manipulative beats that, in fairness, would have been forgiven by most cinephiles (including myself). Darren Le Gallo could have summoned dynamic monologues from the Hoffmans, Spacek, and Fisk. Thankfully, he chose restraint and crafted a beautifully rendered tale.
The final moments of Sam & Kate knocked me over (in a good way), and hopefully you will give this movie a shot!! Report back and share your thoughts on the film!
All three of us recommend the feature (Bruce and I gave it 4/5 stars and Eric came in at 3.5/5). Sam & Kate hits theaters November 11.
Sam & Kate, along with Paradise City, The Friendship Game, and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story are reviewed on the latest Find Your Film episode:
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