Its hard to like a character, no matter how well they act in the latter part of a film, when the first scene you see is a graphic murder of a mother by the father, witnessed by a small child. It reminds me of film openings of various horror films. Then we see the films credits roll over some cutsie 70's song. This film is unrelentingly mean-spirited and confused in its message. The adult child reunites with his father 13 years later,after the father is released from prison, only to provoke his father and wallow in violent fantasies of his father attacking him. Why, perhaps he wants his fathers attention? Who knows. We are also witness to a graphic rape of the only likable person in the film, an ugly harassment in a boardwalk arcade of the same woman by a bunch of sailors, a repulsive stag party, beatings, a sadistic parole officer, and a psychopathic hen farmer. This might be o.k. if it had a point, but it doesn't. The movie, which is blue-collar in its location and tone, seems to hate and condescend to these people. The only redeeming quality of the film is the great New Jersey shore location shooting.
Review of Going Home
