This true story is not so uncommon - chasing the American Dream in whatever way possible, yet being able to bond with your child, albeit as an absentee father. At first I wondered why this story was chosen to be made into a film, as I'm sure there were better options. However, director and actor Sean Penn and his newb actor daughter Dylan Penn were outstanding with their performances, and made this film very powerful, touching and emotional. Although Dylan was monotonic for the most part, you could really feel the chemistry and bond her character had, and I'm sure is was much easier the fact it really was her dad. For that matter, every performance was pretty much perfect.
Penn's directing was also decent, and I had no problems with the time-line story telling, but I did find the 109 min runtime and the slow pacing drag out the story more than it should have. The screenplay felt a little scattered in some places, and I would've liked to see more father-daughter dynamics in the story. Cutting out about 10-20 mins from the adapted screenplay by Jez Butterworth would've done this film justice, and you wouldn't have lost any of the stories substance. The soundtracks, although very fitting, were too long and too many imo.
Nevertheless, it's a good story told well, that I enjoyed regardless of its flaws. I guess maybe I'm a little biased being a father and having a daughter that age, and a longtime fan of the Penns, but I still do recommend it, and will say the critics really went too hard on this one. It's a well deserved 7.5 rounded up to an 8/10 from me.
