User reviews

Andrew Levitas makes his screen writing and directing debut in this little film LULLABY and for a first time effort, despite all the rough unfinished edges of the canvas, he gives notice of a man with a fairly keen perception of the complex interrelationships of dysfunctional families.

Jonathan Lowenstein (Garrett Hedlund) lives in Los Angeles attempting to become a singer of note and has been estranged from his wealthy New York family for years, always feeling as though he was unable to live up to his father's expectations. One day, he suddenly receives word that his terminally ill father Robert Lowenstein (Richard Jenkins) wishes to be taken off life support after a 12 year struggle with lung cancer and has 36 hours to live. When he agrees to visit his father, he unintentionally sets up a family conflict with no easy resolution. His mother (Annie Archer) has been caretaker of Robert and is happy to have the family reunited: Karen (Jessica Brown Findlay), the younger sister in law school, struggles with resentment for Jonathan, Jonathan detests the fact that he must observe the dying wishes of Robert (including setting up Seder when Jonathan has a history of disregarding his Jewish heritage), cope with Karen's acerbic flairs, deal with a stranger Meredith (Jessica Barden) who is 17 years old and dying of bone cancer who shares her needs with Jonathan and he with her, and re-encountering his lost love Emily (Amy Adams). Some of the best moments are provided by Jennifer Hudson as the potty mouth bitchy nurse, Terence Howard as the attending physician who is to aids Robert's 'assisted suicide', and Daniel Sunjata as a policeman who joins in the Seder. Though there are funny moments the story hangs on the subject of death and end of life situations, sharing the manner in which we evaluate our lives and our purposes in this life at that transformative moment of death of a loved one.

Though falling frequently into the overplayed anger/grief/sobbing triad the actors are very fine and they make the film worth watching. Grady Harp, July 14

This film tells the story of a dysfunctional family, who is reunited by the terminally ill father's decision to pull himself off life support.

"Lullaby" is named quite the opposite of what it really is. It is a dark film with a lot of arguments and dysfunctional interactions. It is not easy to watch. The pacing is very slow, and I think the film can be a lot shorter, especially by cutting out the music scenes that are unnecessarily long. Jennifer Hudson is memorable as a nurse with attitude, I am quite unsure if nurses in the States really act like that! The ending speech by the daughter is very touching, but it is still not enough to save "Lullaby" as a tedious film.

(2014) Lullaby DRAMA

Co-produced, written and directed by Andrew Levitas that has inspired rock musician, Jonathan (Garrett Hedlund) returning back home to NYC to see his dad, Robert (Richard Jenkins) who suffering immensely from cancer, deciding to finally pull the plug. He wants to do this, not with his wife (Anne Archer) and son but also with his successful lawyer daughter, Karen (Jessica Brown Findlay) who is attempting to prevent him from what she felt was her dad making an irrational decision. I liked some of the general conversation exchanges between brother and sister, as they put their differences aside.

Review: What a touching movie! This deep emotional drama really did touch me and the great performances from the actors, especially Richard Jenkins and the little kids, made this film a joy to watch. Richard Jenkins plays Robert, whose is a successful business man, suffering with terminal cancer. His son, Jonathan (Garrett Hedlund) rushes to be by his bedside but when he arrives at the hospital, his father tells him that he has requested for the machines to be switched off in 48 hours, which have been keeping him alive. Jonathan finds it hard to deal with his decision to end his life and he finds comfort from a young female patient, whilst having a cigarette by the fire escape. He then returns to his father and mother, Rachel (Anne Archer), who also is finding it hard to deal with his decision and when there daughter Karen (Jessica Brown Findlay) arrives, Robert tells them that he has left most of his money to various charities that need it, which doesn't go down to well with Karen and Jonathan. Karen then tells the family that she has taken out an injunction to stop her father from taking his own life and her troubled relationship with her brother, causes them to argue in front of there parents. After a while, the family come together and have a meal in the chapel, we're there mother breaks down because she doesn't know how she's going to live without any money. Jonathan then meets up with his old girlfriend, Emily (Amy Adams), who manages to calm him down and explains to him why there relationship broke down. He also manages to have a decent conversation with his sister and there father tells Karen that he would consider not going ahead with the suicide if she can come out with a good enough reason for him to stay alive. While she is putting together her case, Jonathan helps out the same patient that he had a cigarette with, by taking her to a prom, which the other patients put together in the hospital. He then spends the night with his father and Karen brings her case forward in the morning. Although her case is a good one, Robert still wants to go ahead with the suicide and now that the family have come together as one, they agree to his conditions. Dr. Crier (Terence Howard), turns off the machines with Roberts family by his side and they show there love for there father/husband while he slowly passes away. Emotional! I did shed a tear near the end but watching him in pain was just as bad. The spoilt kids bickering did get on my nerves because they were constantly being really selfish, without thinking about there poor mum who, practically lived in the hospital. Nurse Carrie (Jennifer Hudson), brought some needed wit to the movie and Richard Jenkins stayed upbeat to the end. You do need to be in the right frame of mind to watch the film because it is quite depressing but it's an illness that is affecting many people's life's in day to day life. Anyway, I really enjoyed this movie and I definitely recommend it to people who are into there emotional dramas. Enjoyable!

Round-Up: Garrett Hedlund, 31, first hit the big screen in 2004 in Troy, which isn't a bad way to start your career in cinema and he's also starred in Friday Night Lights, Four Brothers, Eragon, Death Sentence, Tron: Legacy, Country Strong, On The Road, Inside Llewyn Davis and Unbroken. He also plays Hook in the upcoming Pan and he stars alongside Oscar Isaac and Mark Wahlberg  in Mojave so his career has been pretty impressive so far. He did act like a spoilt brat in this movie but once he sorted himself out, he actually didn't turn out to be a bad guy. This is the first movie written and directed by Andrew Levitas, 38, who didn't do a bad job with this delicate subject. He got the most out of the impressive cast and for his first project, he really did show the different sides of how a family dealing with cancer. 

I recommend this movie to people who are into their dramatic movies starring Amy Adams, Richard Jenkins, Terrence Howard, Jennifer Hudson, Garrett Hedlund, Anne Archer and Jessica Brown Findlay. 6/10

Don't let the present 6.2 rating here fool you. This movies is below the average. And please do not watch it because you like Amy Adams. She barely appears in the movie.

The whole plot looks forced, specially Adams' character, which was there probably to fool viewers into watching this. The story does not lead anywhere and tries too hard to be a lesson in life.

Pretentious, without any new ideas, and pointless are the best adjectives to describe it. It's the first work of this director, who clearly intended to make a emotionally loaded movie with a message, but ended with a broken piece.

This is a truly beautiful and deeply moving film. While it may sound a bit depressing, it's anything but.

It's funny fresh and completely life affirming.

The performances are flawless and Garrett Hedlund and Richard Jenkins are magnificent. Jessica Brown Findlay, Anne Archer and Jessica Barden are also wonderful. Jennifer Hudson has never been better.

The music and feel of the film is fresh and really satisfying.

It made me want to call everyone I hold close and tell them exactly how much I appreciate them and love them.

Life is short.

See it!!

This is a wonderful spectacular and emotional film. It grabs at the heartstrings. It makes you think. It makes you fall in love with a wonderful cast of dynamic characters, which are flawlessly performed on screen by an all-star ensemble of a cast. I think this was directed wonderfully.

I believe the story-line came together in a believable fashion. I think the viewer becomes a part of the overall story. You can relate to the characters. You seem to meld into the mindset and the actions and the emotional reality of the story. The story-line is something we all can become a part of and relate to and feel like we have gone through it or know someone that has gone through it.

It shocks me that this movie has got such bad ratings. The critics are absolutely wrong on this one. This is a touching story. A wake up call so you can say what needs to be said and done before it's too late. Like I say this is a film that is a true drama that needs to be seen. It's almost as if coming to a point in your life when you realize what needs to be done, has to be done now, there's a deadline and it makes you experience that reality.

It's great and funny at times. Nice originality and a relatable cast, relatable story and a flow of the direction, we all can become a part of. The film is very fresh. It seems like it's a moment of everyday life that you come in-sync with at what's taking place. At times you laugh, you're moved through an emotional journey of life and death and choices.

You can finish my review here: http://www.abucketofcorn.com/2014/07/lullaby-2014.html

The story centers around a son's and daughter's responses to a father's desire to end all palliative treatment, designed to keep him alive, in spite of his having an incurable cancer. Unfortunately, I didn't really know where this movie was going with the story. I saw a family of three arguing mostly, and going through emotional breakdowns without an ounce of genuineness.

The son is a musician who had a falling out with the family. Nothing else is mentioned about him. He grunts and yells, and goes through some emotional wrangling as he tries to accept his father wishes. The daughter's response is even more incomprehensible. Since her father took her and his son off his will, she started getting upset. Then she goes on about a person's right to die versus a responsibility to help family by staying alive. A little speech is inserted attesting to this. The mother mostly cries but has a few emotional breakdowns. That, in essence, was the movie, except that it was punctuated by a few "heartwarming moments" with a former girlfriend and young cancer patient, moments that didn't help with the unevenness of the script.

I saw no chemistry among the actors. The script was messy and the emotional reactions constantly displayed throughout the film became distracting. All four actors and their abilities were wasted on a poor script.

One of the many problems of this movie is the cast. People like Amy Adams and Terence Howard are wasted in small roles. RIchard Jenkins as always is great but he can't rescue the bad script, bad dialog and bad direction that often feels so forced and at times really cringeworthy. Look out for the scenes where the family falls into "fake" laughter. So you potentially have some really good actors but what do you do? You center the movie about the one who is attempting to act. Garrett Hudlunds acting is horrendous. I have never seen him being good but also never as painfully bad as here. I am sure he is trying but it just never works. And I don't know if it is him or the director but in every scene you get the feeling he is positioned in the scene a certain way to accentuate his looks. His pseudo artsy hair- and beardstyle doesn't help. He is a good looking dude but this is not a RomCom it is a drama. Focus on the acting not on looking good.

A triumph of 2-dimensional characters, drawn with a crayon, of whom it's impossible to care about even one.

From cliché tropes and dreadful TV movie dialog to the insulting racist and antisemitic stereotypes, we move from one uncomfortable, phoned in faux-motional outburst to another, punctuated by belabored death bed pronouncements croaked from said bed that seems to be all over the fantasy hospital-- its inhabitant looking on, ghostly and benign.

This ham handed pro assisted suicide flyer is a small, small film, that never should have made it past broadcast television. Avoid at all costs.

I first noticed Garrett Hedlund in On The Road, where I thought he was brilliant, in all senses of the word. The trailer for Lullaby also looked enticing. After watching the movie I can tell you that I don't regret my decision, I liked it very much, but it is not something that you can relax with or something that can be enjoyed at all times and by anyone.

The plot is simple: family patriarch is dying and the family gathers around him at this difficult moment. We get to understand each character, mostly Hedlund's though, and their interaction. Courageous bald cancer girl and ex-girlfriend clichés are also present to further the story.

People have talked about the length of the film and, indeed, to witness human uncomfortable suffering for two hours felt a little too much. However all actors played well, except maybe Jessica Brown Findlay, but she is just beginning, cut her some slack; the script was very nice and I could find no real flaws in the direction or other production values. Maybe bracing through two hours of good film is not so bad after all, is it?

My personal take from the movie is that people always expect something from you and when they have nothing to lose, like when they are dying or are overwhelmed by pain, they actually demand it. I am still not convinced that being annoyed rather than involved is the bad thing to do. It makes for a good movie to get involved, I guess.

Bottom line: watch out for Garrett Hedlund, he will be rising. The movie was great, but watch it when you are in the mood for consistent emotional dramatic tension, not at breakfast before you get to work. i think it is also cathartic for people who lost or are going to lose somebody soon. And Richard Jenkins is always good in the role of the dying or dead father, isn't he? :)

Quality Concept, Quality Writing, Quality Directing, Quality Acting, Quality Soundtrack! If this movie doesn't win an Academy Award the Hollywood establishment is simply beyond hope!

Whenever I see Richard Jenkins' name on a production I stop and take a close look. He's the sort of actor who is so good at his job that it doesn't seem like "acting" at all. Thus when I noticed that he was part of the cast in Lullaby I pressed enter on my Apple TV control and settled back to enjoy the ride.

And what a ride it proved to be!

Terms like Gut Wrenching only hint at the roller coaster ups and downs of a script beyond excellent and words like "real" are so spot on that even the most rabid cliché hater must of needs use that descriptor...

One wonders how anyone could survive the writing of this script, or the directing of this movie, or the acting out of these roles.

Difficult conundrums faced with hesitancy but ultimately depicted with brutal honesty and yet delicate sensitivity!

The sort of movie everyone can be proud of being involved in...and that includes even the act of watching it.

Bravo, and thanks to all involved!