Tumbleweeds

The premise of a film about a mother and 12 year-old daughter on the road is not necessarily attractive to everyone. But this was a refreshing example of the genre, mainly because the director allowed character development. Mother and daughter have characteristics both endearing and infuriating (like all of us; something that Hollywood so often forgets) and, as a result, we're not forced to take sides with one against the other. Rather we find ourselves looking out for opportunities for them to both lead a more stable existence. Inevitably in a film of this nature there must be a great temptation to play on sentimentality and help boost Kleenex sales. But fortunately that doesn't happen; in fact the only tearful moment comes from one of the male characters recounting the loss of his wife. The two leads react well to each other, something which was essential for the film to work.

An entertaining approach to the genre for which the viewer doesn't have to suspend rationality.