''Being Flynn'' is a 2012 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-gen ...
written and directed by
Paul Weitz and starring
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...
,
Julianne Moore
Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, a ...
and
Paul Dano
Paul Franklin Dano (; born June 19, 1984) is an American actor. He began his career on Broadway before making his film debut in ''The Newcomers'' (2000). He won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance for his role in '' L.I.E.' ...
, released in select theatres in the United States on March 2, 2012. It was based on ''
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City'', a 2004 memoir by
Nick Flynn
Nick Flynn (born January 26, 1960) is an American writer, playwright, and poet. His writing is characterized by lyric, distilled moments, which blur the boundaries of various genres. Many of his books are structured using a collage technique, w ...
.
Plot
Nick Flynn is an aspiring writer who works at a homeless shelter where his estranged father Jonathan stays. Jonathan, an
alcoholic
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...
ex-con and self-proclaimed "master storyteller", left Nick's mother Jody years earlier to raise Nick on her own. She eventually committed suicide, for which Nick feels responsible.
Jonathan gets into fights with the others, and Nick is tempted to throw him out. Nick and Jonathan get into an intense argument, during which Jonathan tells Nick that they are the same. The stress of seeing his father again drives Nick to drink heavily and abuse drugs, costing him his relationship with his girlfriend and coworker, Denise.
Jonathan eventually gets kicked out of the shelter, with Nick voting with the staff for his removal. Nick tries to numb the guilt by smoking
crack, but it only intensifies his pain, and he realizes that he has a problem. He enters a rehabilitation program, and makes amends with Denise.
One night, he finds Jonathan sleeping on the street and invites him to stay with him. When they part ways the next day, Jonathan tells Nick that he is not responsible for his mother's suicide, and that they are not the same after all.
Nick becomes a teacher, starts a family, and publishes a book of his poetry, while Jonathan qualifies for
Section 8 housing
Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 (), often called Section 8, as repeatedly amended, authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords on behalf of low-income households in the United States. Fort Lauderdale, Florida Ho ...
thanks to Nick's recommendation. Jonathan shows his appreciation by letting Nick read his "masterpiece", ''Memoirs of a Moron'', which Nick finds to be initially promising, but ultimately falling short - much like Jonathan himself. He invites Jonathan to his poetry reading, where he introduces his father to his wife and infant daughter. After some hesitation, he allows Jonathan to hold his daughter.
Cast
Reception
''Being Flynn'' received mixed reviews. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, the film has a 51% based on 81 reviews with an
average rating of 5.83/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Robert De Niro gives a sincere, gripping performance, but ''Being Flynn'' is an uneasy mix of drama and comedy that fails to emotionally resonate as a whole." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc D ...
, the film received a 53% rating based on 27 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Many critics praised De Niro's performance.
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
stated that "to summon up his most iconic role must represent De Niro's faith in this film".
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American columnist and film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times''. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's success ...
said "De Niro returns to genius form in 'Being Flynn'."
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Being Flynn
2012 films
Films directed by Paul Weitz
Films about dysfunctional families
Films about writers
Films based on non-fiction books
Films set in Boston
Films shot in New York City
American independent films
Focus Features films
2012 drama films
American drama films
Films with screenplays by Paul Weitz
2012 independent films
2010s English-language films
2010s American films