Being Flynn Review

                           The opening line of the new film, "Being Flynn" is Robert De Niro saying "there have been only three truly great American writers-Mark Twain, JD Salinger, and myself, Jonathan Flynn." Jonathon's disposition can be summed up by this opening line. Jonathon is a down on his luck guy who believes he's a great writer, even though, in actuality, he's just a mess of a man. Enter Nick (Paul Dano)-Jonathon's son who gets kicked out of his house and moves in with a black man and a homosexual. I characterize who he moves in with because blacks and homosexuals are the two things the character of Jonathon hates the most. Being Flynn then tells the story of the relationship between Nick and Jonathon through all its ups and downs, but mostly downs.

                          Where Being Flynn works is in its script. It's a touching script, and it actually tugged at my heartstrings. Where the film fails is its execution. While there are great performances by De Niro, Dano, Julianne Moore, and Olivia Thirbly, the rest of the execution is trying too hard to make us relate. As a writer, I can relate, but the fact that it tries to speak to everyone, and I mean everyone, takes away from me being able to relate to it. The fact that it tries to relate to everyone is also bad for the fact that the film would have worked better if it was distant, not in your face. However, the performances and script save this film from being bad. In fact, the film is actually pretty good because of these two factors.

                       Based on the memoir Another Bullshit Night In Suck City by son Nick, Being Flynn is a good film that could have been so much better. If not for the fact that it tried to be for everybody in such a gargantuan way, it would have been a film that more people could enjoy. However, because of the fact that it tried to be so fathomable, it actually becomes quite esoteric. As a writer, I liked this film. However, as a writer, I should have loved this film.  

(3 out of 5 stars, Being Flynn is rated R for language throughout, some sexual content, drug use, and brief nudity)