Daddy Longlegs

In the recent history of estranged cinematic fathers, Ronald Bronstein's Daddy Longlegs divorcé would handily lose "Father of the Year" to both Gene Hackman's Royal Tenenbaum and Jeff Daniels' self-absorbed Squid And The Whale patriarch. Shot in John Cassavetes-esque verité style, this Sundance and SXSW selection ambles through Bronstein's two court-appointed weeks with his elementary school-aged sons, tracing a series of negligence and general fucking up that escalates until Bronstein accidentally drugs his kids into near-comatose states. Glaring out from under a graying shock of Cosmo Kramer hair, Bronstein believably inhabits the role of a father who'd rather be a friend—guided by co-directors Ben and Joshua Safdie, whose experiences with their own irresponsible dad likely colored Bronstein's performance. 

Updated 07/13/2010