n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

'Coastlines' is a film that draws you in with superb character development. It takes a methodical approach allowing the players on screen plenty of space to grow their characters. Through the first parts of the film I was riveted; not by flashy Hollywood gimmicks, but through the purity of each actor's performance and their course through the story.The progression through the middle of the film maintains this steady hand, and we are introduced to branching story lines which keeps the viewer guessing at what's coming next. Is this a revenge film? Is it a story about friendship, or perhaps a story of betrayal? It never becomes clear as to what 'type' of movie you're watching, and this leads to a sense of anticipation as the film is rarely predictable.I was waiting for some kind of dramatic conclusion near the end, or more appropriately, I was pondering what judgments the film would make on the morality of its characters. 'Coastlines' never makes any bold statements to this effect, however, besides perhaps the thematic allusions to unconditional love. The story takes a foray into complex adult themes without finding a coherent resolution, and I feel this was the bridge too far for 'Coastlines'.If you are a patient viewer who appreciates the nuances of finely wrought character development then I encourage you to see this film... and draw your own conclusions.

Victor Nunez is on par with a lot of directors who use their surroundings as their muse. Like Scorcese with New York, Mann with L.A., or Shamalyan with Pennsylvania, Nunez builds his stories around an area he knows well: east coast Florida. His masterpiece "Ulee's Gold" used the enchanting backdrop of Orlando's peaceful outskirts to build on the emotional aspects of its main character Ulee. The movie came alive from Nunez's subtle, but powerful focus on atmosphere, character nuance and rich symbolism.It's disappointing that his follow-up "Coastlines" (which completes his "Panhandle Trilogy") had some of those elements in tact, but failed to use them effectively. The story is about a young man named Sonny (played by a well-cast Timothy Olyphant) who gets released from prison to a home town that has grown up without him. He gets back in touch with his old friend Dave, who is now a police officer and married to Sonny's old crush Ann. Simultaneously, he deals with unsettled issues from his old mobbed-up employers.From that story come some potentially engaging themes like revenge, jealousy, nostalgia, disenchantment and betrayal. However, disappointment quickly sets in when the scenes become more and more dull. The screenplay was written before "Ulee's Gold," and is extremely similar, with many characters and back stories almost exactly mirroring those of the previous film. "Coastlines" brings nothing new to the table, and has no energy with the subject matter at hand. As the movie moves on, it becomes hard to shake the feeling that Nunez had run out of inspiration.What the movie lacks despite energy is originality. The movie contains plenty of drama, but there is nothing happening that hasn't been done better in other movies. What Nunez needed, in order to transcend the clichés, was the rich undertones and subtexts that made "Ulee" so engrossing. Nunez needed another layer of depth to give weight to all the things going on in his story.There is no doubt that Victor Nunez is an excellent independent director. However, that doesn't excuse the fact that "Coastlines" is a movie that simply didn't need to be made.

while characters were stereotypical, i allowed a distance cuz i' ve spent quite a lot of time time in the locations. Moments of recognition weren't validated by level of script, although enjoyable for noir-ish elements, but too-oversimplified and limited. Folks in small towns know everything about each other (Appalachicola/ Carabelle, FL) but this script didn't provide the full sense of community or shared knowledge.There was a broadened sense of family but only in a limited way. Characters were broad and not too realistic. Saw the director's premiere of "Gal Young'un." Without a world-class writer (Rawlings) a possibly-limited was further limiteda. Yet, a simple (overly?) engaging tale with some lovely cinematography. Miami Vice crossed with The Yearling?.\

COASTLINES, a Victor Nunez film Timothy Olyphant Josh Brolin Sarah Wynter Angela Bettis(the following contains no plot spoilers, only commentary on performances and general tone)Someone's certifiably insane. Why this movie was never released is inexplicable. It portrays a complex intermingling of the relationship between three people with some close to startling revelations that lead to the ultimate resolve of their feelings.What is not surprising, having seen all of his post and previous work, is Tim Olyphant's flawless portrayal of Sonny Mann. Like his warm honey voice, Tim's seamless performance slides across the screen with a subtle but decidedly dangerous undertow. He plays Sonny quietly with a couple of notable exceptions when that unmistakably sensed volcano just under the surface throughout erupts, yet with an amazing control. It's Tim's control that conveys the feel of Sonny's quiet and determined desperation without skipping a beat and meshes his tentative yet confident tenderness effortlessly into the character. Tim doesn't let you escape knowing, with brilliant understatement at times, that Sonny has some already heavy baggage that gets a brick added to it. Tim is always accomplished at "throwing the looks" with those huge eyes, and being so completely present in any role he assumes that it reaches out, grabs you, draws you into the character, and absent any distraction from other actors draws you into the storyline simultaneously.Credit is also due to Brolin and Wynters for the everyday believability seen in their characters. Angela Bettis's performance also falls neatly into that category, though I kept waiting for her to morph more completely into Juliette Lewis, but haven't bothered to figure out quite why that is yet - though it's probably a flashback to Lewis's character in Kalifornia.The friendship between Sonny and Dave and his wife, Ann, is at first heartwarming but rapidly becomes disturbingly uncomfortable and tense, and oddly enough more so to the viewer than to the characters when the movie ends with a tentative resolve.The almost too evenly paced plot is coherently interrupted five times, which is enough to save it from flatness; three times by physicals events involving Olyphant's character, and twice by dialog between Brolin and Wynter. The interesting thing is that the dialog shockers are at least as effective as the physical ones, and if Brolin's last deceivingly quietly delivered zinger in the storyline doesn't make you jump then you're in an alternate universe, or at the very least have the volume turned off.The examined dynamics of love and friendship alone make this a worthwhile view. Then there's Tim Olyphant - more icing than any cake can handle.