Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

In 1969 Pennsylvania, Jamie Schwartz (Alex Wolff) is in his Senior Year at Crampton Prep. The other boys hate him and the teachers are little better. He wants to do a play about Holden Caulfield adapting J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. He likes a townie girl but another, Deedee Gorlin (Stefania LaVie Owen), likes him and his play. He runs away from the bullying and goes in search of the reclusive Salinger. Deedee volunteers to drive him.There are some early extended flashbacks. Most of it is unnecessary except for showing a hatred of him from the start and the cause of his isolation. Jamie is a rather dislikeable awkward nerd while Deedee is adorable. He's clueless in an annoying way. It makes his obsession with the pretty girl very superficial. It's appealing to have his sole obsession be Salinger while avoiding the pretty girl trope. Deedee goes hard at Jamie. They could have played with possible homosexuality except for him falling over himself for the pretty girl. There are issues at play with this coming-of-age story. The relationship grows on me but I never really like Jamie. She's the better character and would have been a better protagonist. Chris Cooper does a nice turn in a small role although that exchange could have some more supportive words even if it comes from Deedee.

Many people will enjoy the crap out of this movie because of its angsty hero and the story of his perseverance in the face of a hostile world. The directional arc of this story is almost religious in its message of faith, of feeling chosen, of attempting to interpret the uninterpretable, and forcing yourself to push through the darkness. If that's what the movie had been about, it would have been an absolute masterpiece. Maybe I'm asking too much for a movie to be so aware of its message that its context and narrative go in that direction also.Unfortunately, the movie is about the universal nature of the mythic Holden Caulfield character. The screenwriter has done exactly what Salinger told him not to do, to interpret the mythos and reduce it to a cheap psychoanalysis of what that character means. As a fan of the book myself, it's disheartening to see just how misinterpreted it becomes even in the most capable of hands.Don't get me wrong, this movie is enjoyable in and of itself. The movie itself is great looking and moderately satisfying. Cooper is particularly enjoyable as the man himself, operating as both the wise man on the hill and the man behind the curtain. The filmmaker did a fine job with what he had to work with, which was a flawed script that comes to conclusions that don't quite fit together. The hero on a quest motif works extremely well here, but there were many missed opportunities on the journey to reach for more. The opening half-hour comes from a pretty dark and intense place, but that energy isn't sustained, as it instead veers into syrupy redemption rather than attempting to make any statements about where that darkness and intensity comes from. It's apparently enough just to state it exists, like the dragon that must either be slain or domesticated. I don't dislike this movie, but it's frustrating to see a fairly pat story applied to a very complex subject, and attempt to get away with it by shrugging about what it means. The story could very easily have been about what it means instead of simply the shrug.

At first, I thought the best thing about this indie was going to be its beautiful rustic scenery, as the film seemed to have so much awkward, even irritating, dialogue initially. However, I felt that the movie got increasingly better as it progressed, ending well and on an upbeat note.Set in the mid to late 1960's, as the Vietnam War raged, Alex Wolff stars as Jamie, a student at Crompton Prep, in Pennsylvania. He's adapted a stage play from the classic novel "Catcher in the Rye" (one of my favorite books) by the acclaimed author J.D.Salinger. Being bullied and harassed at his school, Jamie decides to leave and travel to New Hampshire and attempt to locate and get the approval of the extremely reclusive writer.Stephania LaVie Owen is excellent co-starring as Jamie's friend Deedee, who obviously likes Jamie quite a lot and offers to drive him on his quest. Thus, the two teens will embark on the road trip, with some adventures and discoveries waiting for them along the way. The superb actor Chris Cooper is spot on as Salinger, as he seeks his privacy above all else in rustic New England. I read that the movie depicts the real life attempts of the film's writer and director James Sadwith, to find and talk to Salinger.Overall, as mentioned, I found this indie to be awkward and initially filled with rough spots, but I thought it got progressively better, and ended well and on a high note, Thus, I would say it can be a fairly decent watch if you don't expect perfection.

This was my overall favourite (non-horror) film from the Phoenix Film Festival, hands down. It was just so well done! I can't even find a bad thing to say about it. A truly perfect film!This is a coming of age story at it's core, but it's also the (mostly) true story of the writer/director's quest to meet the notoriously private JD Salinger. I had the opportunity to hear the director discuss this film and his respect for Salinger was obvious. He also stated that the conversations with Salinger were actually verbatim because he wrote them down immediately, and then used these notes to write the film. So you're truly getting a bit of insight into the real Salinger with this film.The movie is so much more than that, though. In my opinion, this is truly an Oscar worthy film.