Thursday, October 10, 2013

Lebanon, PA [HD]



Very Good Film
I completely disagree with another reviewer that calls this film "pro-abortion". I never got the sense that the film took any side in the debate, it just showed an average American family dealing with a difficult decision. I thought the film did a great job of painting a picture of both "Americas" that exist today, smaller-town vs. big city. The performances were very good and believable. The earlier review also referred to the Josh Hopkins character as the "good guy", but I disagree with that as well. As one of the 2 central characters, you think he's going to change and grow as a person from his time in Lebanon, PA but in the end, I don't think he changes much at all. I found this film to be thought-provoking, well-acted and beautifully shot.

A Nicely Crafted Indie Film
I confess up front that I was attracted to this film because it was shot on location in Philadelphia (where I currently live) and Lebanon, PA (where I'm from; well, the nearby town of Richland, actually).

But I was immediately swept up by the characters and the story. Will is a Philadelphia advertising executive who finds out that his father, whom he barely knew, has just died. Coming right on the heels of a breakup with his girlfriend of four years, he suffers a crisis and heads to his father's house in Lebanon, PA to try to sort things out.

Initially, he's captivated by what he sees as a simpler lifestyle in the rural community and begins to get involved in the lives of his father's neighbors, and especially with a married teacher that he meets while playing darts in a local bar.

The story progresses from there, as he gradually learns more about the values and lives of the local folk. The story grabbed me emotionally and never let go, even as I...

An Okay Movie
Will (Josh Hopkins), an account manager for an ad agency in Philadelphia, attends his father's funeral in Lebanon, PA. While he's back in his hometown seventeen year old CJ (Rachel Kitson) tells him something she's hasn't shared with anyone else - she's pregnant.

I'll begin with this: I would have liked the relationship between Will and Vicki (Samantha Mathis) if the circumstances were different.

The film clearly shows the problems that arise when a teenage girl gets pregnant, when a teenage boy makes a baby -how it puts a strain on the young parents-to-be and their parents.

CJ : It didn't seem to me that this teen was struggling to decide if she should or shouldn't have an abortion. What I saw was a pregnant girl who knew what she wanted to do, but needed someone to tell her the choice was okay.

Lebanon, PA deals with the delicate issue of abortion. I thought it was handled quite well, because it wasn't one-sided; however, I didn't like the...

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