Terri (2011)

There are two ways you can view low-budget, independent movies. One, you can roll your eyes at a lot of the familiar tropes (the quirky characters, the moments of discomfort, the low-key and relaxed way the slim plot unfolds, etc). Two, you can enjoy visiting a small part of a world populated by people who don't have an extra layer of celebrity sheen to act their way through. I prefer the second method, of course, but it's often decided by the quality of the movie itself.

Terri is a good movie, and I hope others share my opinion of it. Considering I had never heard of it before today, I am really not sure of how it has been received by the few who have already seen it.

Jacob Wysocki plays the titular character, a high school student who has taken to attending school in his pyjamas. They are just more comfortable for him, and it saves him time as he is finding it more and more difficult to look after his ill Uncle James (Creed Bratton). But that still doesn't stop him getting into trouble at school, due to his tardiness and worsening grades, which brings him to the office of the School Principal, Mr Fitzgerald (John C. Reilly). That leads to him befriending the troubled Chad (Bridger Zadina), and also eventually helps him make a connection with the lovely Heather (Olivia Crocicchia).

Directed by Azazel Jacobs, who also came up with the story idea that was shaped by first-time scriptwriter Patrick Dewitt, Terri is a character study that just manages to avoid being too irritating and quirky thanks to the fact that a lot of fun moments are injected with an honesty that stems from the motivations of the main characters.

The performances help a lot. Wysocki is very good in the main role, although he is stuck in the role of gentle victim of circumstance looking forward to times when high school is far behind him, but the star turn comes from Reilly, portraying someone who wants to help the kids in his care but doesn't always do things in the right way, because he is just a man who makes mistakes. Bratton is also excellent, most of the time unaware of exactly what he is doing, because of his illness, and Zadina and Crocicchia both do very well, although both are given unsatisfying moments in the third act.

Overall, this is a small film that does so much right that it's easy to forgive some of the mistakes. It's a shame that it builds up to something that doesn't really satisfy as it should, but that's the way of life, and films like this tend to value that approach over easy brownie points.

7/10

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