Morris from America, an official selection of the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival, follows a father and his 13 year old son as they move from New York to Germany. Directed by Chad Hartigan, the film stars Craig Robinson, Markees Christmas, Carla Juri, Patrick Güldenberg, and Lina Keller.
The Review:
This is definitely about as original of an idea for a movie as you will find which makes it hard to label or categorize and I mean that in a good way. It's equal parts comedy, drama, coming of age, fish ou of water, romance, and father son story and it does all of them very well thanks to a really smart script from director Chad Hartigan. It's always a tall order to tell a story that gets inside the heads of teenagers without feeling dated or out of touch, yet Hartigan handles it all quite nicely of course with the help of a very solid cast.
To this point, I have only ever seen Craig Robinson play bit parts and supporting roles that allow him to do nothing more than crack a few jokes here and there. With this film, he is given the opportunity to take on a much more involved role as a man who is trying to balance out a middling career with being a father all while adapting to living in a new country. We also get a solid debut from newcomer Markees Christmas in the title role and a strong supporting performance from Carla Juri (Wetlands) who plays Morris' tutor.
The Verdict:
Morris from America is an entertaining story with some surprisingly good acting performances. I doubt if it will have the ability to gain much of an audience outside of the festival cicruit but it is definitely worth checking out.
Check out all of my reviews and coverage for the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival HERE!
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