We were attracted to this movie because it has Josh Lucas, an actor we enjoy and can be depended upon to create an interesting character. And he does that here, his performance makes the movie worth watching.
However not every movie fan will enjoy it. The story is revealed only very gradually, we see him and his wife and two children in a sort of hazy shot, and we figure out that they have disappeared but we don't know why or how. Viewers who stick with it can enjoy a nice drama about a lost man attempting to find his way.
Josh Lucas is only known as Young Mariner. He is a valuable businessman who shows up at the small Lake Michigan harbor having just bought a sailboat. "As is." And he soon finds out that it is in very rough condition, very dirty, water in the bottom, no bilge pump, the engine won't start, the sails are in bad need of repair. He seems determined to work through it, the seasons pass, he gets to know some of the locals.
Ayelet Zurer has a key role as The Waitress , and also veteran James Cromwell with a key role as The Ancient Mariner , who also has a sail-making shop. At one point the two men are in a small boat, the older man tells the history of that part of the lake, naming a section the "grand traverse", and a comment that life is like that. It is all a "grand traverse" and that seems to be the overall theme of the story.
SPOILERS: The man had been having an extramarital affair and we see his wife and children getting into a car and driving away, then shortly being hit by a speeding truck. They all died, the man was distraught, he blamed himself, he nearly killed himself at least a couple of times. But in the end after about a year living there and working on the boat, getting it "ship-shape", he sold the boat to return to his life again, presumably wiser.
However not every movie fan will enjoy it. The story is revealed only very gradually, we see him and his wife and two children in a sort of hazy shot, and we figure out that they have disappeared but we don't know why or how. Viewers who stick with it can enjoy a nice drama about a lost man attempting to find his way.
Josh Lucas is only known as Young Mariner. He is a valuable businessman who shows up at the small Lake Michigan harbor having just bought a sailboat. "As is." And he soon finds out that it is in very rough condition, very dirty, water in the bottom, no bilge pump, the engine won't start, the sails are in bad need of repair. He seems determined to work through it, the seasons pass, he gets to know some of the locals.
Ayelet Zurer has a key role as The Waitress , and also veteran James Cromwell with a key role as The Ancient Mariner , who also has a sail-making shop. At one point the two men are in a small boat, the older man tells the history of that part of the lake, naming a section the "grand traverse", and a comment that life is like that. It is all a "grand traverse" and that seems to be the overall theme of the story.
SPOILERS: The man had been having an extramarital affair and we see his wife and children getting into a car and driving away, then shortly being hit by a speeding truck. They all died, the man was distraught, he blamed himself, he nearly killed himself at least a couple of times. But in the end after about a year living there and working on the boat, getting it "ship-shape", he sold the boat to return to his life again, presumably wiser.