Little Boxes (2017)

When I first decided to watch this movie I had to question myself if I wanted to take a chance on yet another film that is build around racial issues. I'm quite frankly a bit tired of the "black family moves to a white racist town" or the "white teacher saves a class in the projects" type of films. Those films is so overdone, and also tend to portray people as if it's still the mid 80's or something.In this film they kinda fall in the trap with writing the town people as socially awkward, and borderline racist. Which i guess in some cases might fit, but I don't personally find it believable that everyone is like that. On top of that I felt unsatisfied when the movie ended because I just sat there and wondered what I was supposed to get from it. It barely made me laugh, it didn't move me or make me cry, it didn't make me sad or happy, and worst of all it didn't really give me the good-feel either. So i don't know what they actually tried to do with this film, because it can best be described as "meh". To wrap it up I would like to go back to my topic. It could be so much more. With that I mean it is definitively a good story hiding in this film, and they probably should have made it more about the kid, and write it so that the audience at least get that good-feel or the nostalgic love memories. But as it is right now, I can't really give my recommendations.

"You are so interesting." (White townie to new black resident)Little Boxes is a little film that wants to be more than it is. While it would like to be a quirky tale of an interracial family moving from NYC to white Washington State, it's a slow moving story of a few dysfunctions on the part of the rural town faced with the black and white presence and awkwardly responding to it.The white mother, Gina, played underwhelming by Melanie Lynskey, accepts a tenure-track job at Rome College with perks her black writer husband, Mack (Nelsan Ellis), appreciates if only because his second book is taking a great deal of time. Eleven-year- old son, Clark (Armani Jackson), is experiencing a new life with a couple of 11-year-old girls, nothing grand, just the kind of pre-teen exploration that seems awfully tame from my jaded point of view.The meaty issues that hover over the biracial motif are meekly treated by a few pedestrian lines such as a young girl exclaiming the town needs a black: "We like totally needed a black kid. This town is SO white!" Or about husband a neighbor says, "If you close your eyes you can't even tell he's black." The mold hiding in the family's house is hardly a hidden metaphor. Embarrassing stuffThe only excitement in this turgid melodrama is when Clark gets in trouble for boyish misdeeds, odd actually for such a nice kid. I'm trying not to mention the four female professors at bad karaoke while over drinking on their regular lunch break. Even worse Gina is criticized for getting "sloppy" in a small town--a definite no no and a signal of intolerance almost unheard of in Brooklyn.Clearly Little Boxes (hmm, people trapped? town?) is not in the suburban satirical league of Ice Storm and American Beauty. Even in the final act, a resolution occurs so quickly as to be unbelievable. But I'm not going to spoil one of the only spirited parts of the film.

If you're looking for a thoughtful (and totally realistic) drama about an interracial family's transition from New York City to suburbia, look no further than this film. The expert storytelling delicately—and, at times, quite humorously—tackles the racial tensions that occur as they struggle to acclimate after their move, resulting in a timely and sensitive film that, at the core, is about a family just trying to do their best. I felt completely attached to every character in the film right off the bat. (A major credit to the nimble writing, directing and editing.) And while the story takes on a rather topical issue, it's the family narrative that will totally capture your heart. A must-watch!

This a movie that is let's you into the life of a family moving from New York to a small town in Rome, Washington. It reminds me of the films by Ira Sachs (Love is Strange, Little Men) and I say that as the highest compliment. My favorite part of the movie is the family the movie chronicles and how easily it is to be taken by them. I found myself wanting the movie to be a television show as they create a flawed but beautiful family dynamic that deals with real issues (sometimes not in the best way as what happens in stressful situations). The story itself has elements of big city to small town, racism, the awkwardness of fitting in, and issues with parenting, all dealt with grace (the acting is particularly wonderful by Melanie Lynskey and Nelson Ellis). It'll be hard to peg this film into a certain genre but that's what makes it so wonderful and worth watching. Highly recommend viewing it as it's a magnificently acted, well-crafted story.