According to the New York Times reviewer, "Mr. Martin's take on grief is facile." As one who, with my son, is still processing the recent death of his mother, my wife of 50+ years, I take exception to Mr. Genzingler's glib assessment of Mr Martin's oeuvre. I found "Dean" to be a profoundly insightful representation of the ways in which some of us try to adjust to life without a loved one. Attempting to fill the void in one's life with another living person is a natural step in the real process of assuaging grief - not a "facile" plot device. Other critics seem to fault Mr Martin for failing to inhabit his established comic persona in the role of Dean, the grief stricken son. Yet to me, his characterization was extremely realistic, as was Kevin Kline's subtly nuanced portrayal of a man past mid-life attempting to build a bridge to a new life over a deep and enduring void. I admit I'm not familiar with Mr Martin's previous work as a writer, cartoonist, actor and comedian. But based on the quality of his innovative work on this film alone I would rank him as a creative genius and "Dean" as one of the best films I've seen in more than a half-century of movie going.
Dean
(2016)
An Inspired and Touching Treatment of Recovery from Grief
21 June 2017
Warning: Spoilers