Little Men (2016)

A new pair of best friends have their bond tested by their parents' battle over a dress shop lease.

Director:

Ira Sachs

Writers:

Mauricio Zacharias, Ira Sachs

Stars:

Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Ehle, Paulina García

1 win & 16 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Theo Taplitz	...	Jake Jardine
John Procaccino	...	Mr. Plummer
Ching Valdes-Aran	...	Pilar
Stan Carp	...	Sal Bartolini
Paulina García	...	Leonor Calvelli (as Paulina Garcia)
Talia Balsam	...	Audrey
Greg Kinnear	...	Brian Jardine
Jennifer Ehle	...	Kathy Jardine
Michael Barbieri	...	Tony Calvelli
Stella Schnabel	...	Nina
Yolonda Ross	...	Arkadina
Leah Gardiner	...	Director (as Leah C. Gardiner)
Maliq Johnson	...	Umar
Anthony A. Flamminio	...	Joey (as Anthony Angelo Flamminio)
Alfred Molina	...	Hernán

Storyline

Despite dissimilarities, two middle-school boys from one-child households (Jake and Tony) form a natural friendship when Jake moves with family into his recently deceased grandfather's Brooklyn apartment above the dress shop business of Tony's mother. Extrovert Tony plays soccer, desires to become an actor (like Jake's father) and is sociable, while introvert Jake likes to draw, build his portfolio and be somewhat reclusive. Their best friend status is challenged by Jake's parents inheriting ownership of the building where Tony's mother runs her dress business, asking for three times the rent she previously paid within the upscaling neighborhood. The boys retaliate with silence, but it will likely not be enough.

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Plot Keywords:

best friend | father son relationship | gentrification | eviction | teenage boy with a ponytail | 

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Taglines:

Be on each other's side.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, smoking and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA Greece Brazil

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

4 May 2017 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

Thank You for Being Honest

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,368, 7 August 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$702,191, 25 November 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Race Point Films, Faliro House Productions, Charlie Guidance Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The play in which Brian appears was supposed to be Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit. When the filmmakers failed to clear the rights, it was changed to Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. The screenwriters knew it was in the public domain because they had previously worked on the biopic Monty Clift, in which Matt Bomer is slated to portray Montgomery Clift.

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Goofs

The film is supposed to be actual but Angola is a nation since November,11 1975, not a Portuguese Colony.

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Quotes

Tony Calvelli: [describing his father's infrequent returns home] We seem like a normal family, and then - boom - they start fighting about something stupid, like always, and... I realize it's better when he's not around.

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Soundtracks

Rusalka Op. 114
Written by Antonín Dvorák (as Antonín Leopold Dvorák)
Courtesy of APM Music

User Reviews

Underrated

There are three main types of movies, good ones, bad ones and ones that are overlooked by the public. Yes, it is not a masterpiece and has flaws, but still I enjoyed watching this and I was shocked to see the IMDb rating and the box office result. Though independent movies like this don't make much back it still should of made it's 2 million budget. The performance were almost all good, with the exception of a few, it was well paced so I could truly experience the chemistry growth between the two children who come from two entirely different backgrounds.

To conclude it is an underrated movie that brings out a range of emotions, but yes it is not perfect.