We’re living in a Renaissance of child actors. Gone are the days of awkward gawking and precocious mugging for the camera. In is reserved demeanors and honest recreations of adolescence. Those child actors who must mug, such as Angourie Rice in “The Nice Guys,” do so with confidence and verve. She is not alone, joined by the likes of Julian Dennison in “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” Jacob Tremblay in “Room,” Oakes Fegley in “Pete’s Dragon,” and Royalty Hightower in “The Fits,” just to name a few. Put both Theo Taplitz & Michael Barbieri on that prestigious list, as they both give breakout performances in “Little Men!”
Of course, every great actor needs a great director, and in the case of Theo & Michael, they’ve got Ira Sachs. He’s made a career out of realistic slice of life dramas, with his last film “Love is Strange” tackling the intricacies of a lifelong partnership between Alfred Molina & John Lithgow. “Little Men” is another observation on partnership, this one platonic, between two young teenagers in Brooklyn. While it may not be an adaptation of the Louisa May Alcott novel, it shares some of the same themes of humanity amidst adolescence.
Jake Jardine (Theo Taplitz) & Tony Calvelli (Michael Barbieri) are brought together when Jake’s parents relocate to Brooklyn. They take up residence in Jake’s grandfather’s apartment after his passing, which sits next to a dress shop operated by Tony’s mother, Leonor (Paulina García). The two strike up a friendship immediately, with their love of art (Jake’s drawing & Tony’s acting) bonding them. Their friendship is put to the test when their parents begin to have a legal dispute that slowly turns nasty.
What’s nice about Ira’s direction is in how down to Earth it is. He avoids the mechanics of common storytelling, never resorting to the pratfalls of manufactured drama. There are no escalated scenes of tensions flaring, no verbal and/or physical altercations that require police intervention, no backstabbing or random revelations, or anything of the sort. Everything is handled as it would happen in reality. The insults are kept to a minimum, only popping up during intense moments when they’re warranted (we’ve all said things we regret when in the heat of the moment). For some, this could be seen as slight (a criticism I lodged against “Love is Strange”). For me, I seen it as uniformly frank.
It’d be easy for Ira to instill cheap dramatic thrills given the situation at hand. Leonor is facing eviction from Jake’s parents, Brian & Kathy (Greg Kinnear & Jennifer Ehle). On top of inheriting their father’s apartment, they’ve also gained custody of his lessees. He took a shining to Leonor, giving her an astronomical discount on her rent. With him gone and his son needing the money to support his family, her rent is called into question. This expectedly drives a wedge between the families, one that trickles down to the two boys despite their parents’ best intentions.
While the family conflict comes equipped with the essentials (arguments, legal threats, etc.), it never devolves into a courthouse sideshow. The situation isn’t painted in black-and-white, despite the criticisms of some. Neither side is shown to be wrong, though many will argue Leonor is presented as the villain. Yes, she guilt trips Brian constantly, including one hurtful comment in regard to his manhood, but those are done in the heat of the moment. If one looks at the situation from her perspective, they can gain insight into her psyche. She’s struggled to get by for years, with the assistance of a kindly old landlord aiding her. She was promised to always be taken care of, yet her livelihood is now being put in jeopardy. Of course she would lash out. If anything, she’s rather restrained all things considered.
Brian is restrained too, only pushing forward at the behest of his sister, Audrey (Talia Balsam). He sympathizes with Leonor and loves the kinship he and her son have developed and doesn’t want to threat. He too is struggling to get by, with his acting career taking a hit. His wife, a psychotherapist, has been providing for the family, who were nearly in shambles before this inheritance. You can see the pain in his eyes when
The film isn’t about the adults though, but the little men. We only see the adults’ turmoil to give an insight into the situation and show the struggles of parenthood. It helps in complementing the outlook of the young teens, whose backlash to their parents fighting is the silent treatment. They confide in one another just as much as they do their art, building each other up so they can go to the same performing arts high school the following year. They’re the classic case of opposites attracting: Jake the introvert and Tony the extrovert. It’s reminiscent of friendships I had growing up, with the ending hinting at a harsh reality that I (and I presume many others) faced.
To watch the two young actors perform would be enough to recommend this film. Both embody their roles with expertise seen in seasoned vets, not young upstarts. Taplitz captures the shyness of his introversion without playing it up too much. He’s never painfully shy, only quietly existing in the shadows. One great attention to detail of his is in how he observes humanity, with a quizzical gleam in his eyes. Barbieri is every bit as good as Taplitz, getting the opportunity to shine a little more exuberantly and seizing that opportunity. He oozes charisma and confidence, but has insecurity and trust issues brought upon by his father’s absence (he resides in Africa, where he works). There’s a crushing sequence in which he gets turned down by his crush, with his reaction hitting a nerve in those who’ve had the misfortune of having their heart broken. His character gets lost in acting and I suspect Barbieri himself does. There’s an incredible sequence in which he’s performing emotional sparring exercises with his acting coach where he’s in full control of the screen! It’s funny that he namedrops Al Pacino at one point, as he reminded me of him during this exercise.
I do find it funny that I criticized “Love is Strange” for being a bit too slight, but am seemingly giving “Little Men” a pass in that regard. For me, this film connected on all cylinders, with its slightness complementary of the film’s tone. I guess the same could be said for “Love is Strange,” but that film wasn’t as relatable for me. Here, I was reminded of aspects of my adolescence (the easy aspects, not the tragic ones) while fully wrapped up in the legal dispute. The performances all around were gripping, with Greg Kinnear proving once again he’s a formidable actor (he’s been lost in low-grade tripe for the most part these past few years). Even the ending, which Sachs struggled to get to, worked for me in spades. I left the film with adoration, which many slice of life dramas fail to achieve. I may enjoy them, but I loved this!
Final Rating: A