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Little Men
Jake is a quiet, sensitive middle schooler with dreams of being an artist. He meets the affably brash Tony at his grandfather's funeral, and the unlikely pair soon hit it off. The budding friendship is put at risk, however, when a rent dispute between Jake's father, Brian, and Tony's mother, Leonor, threatens to become contentious.
2016 · Directed by Ira Sachs · 85 min · Drama · Screenplay in the scene database · 11 frames
Tagline
Be on each other's side.
Plot
After his elderly father dies, Brian Jardine moves his wife Kathy and 13-year-old son Jake into a Brooklyn apartment that they have inherited. The two-story building has a tenant in the ground-level space; a dress shop run by Leonor Calvelli and her 13-year-old son Tony. Jake and Tony become fast friends despite having very different personalities. Jake is quiet and reserved and spends much of his time sketching or painting, whereas Tony is talkative and gregarious. Tony is an aspiring actor who attends regular classes at Brooklyn's Acting Out! school and dreams of attending Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School to pursue a performing arts education. Jake decides he wants to attend the same school for his painting. The boys bond through everyday activities like skating around the borough, attending a teen rave, and giving their respective parents the silent treatment when disagreements occur. Tony even starts a fight with his classmates when they insult Jake's sexuality.
The Jardines discover that Brian's father has been charging Leonor an unusually small rent on her store. Since Brian's acting career is stagnant and the family is almost entirely supported by Kathy's work as a psychotherapist, they inform Leonor that her rent will need to be tripled, still placing it below market value for the changing neighborhood. Leonor makes emotional appeals to Brian, claiming that she and his father were close friends and that he would want Brian to be generous to her. Brian is reluctant to take direct legal action against Leonor, partly because he is simply glad his introverted son has finally made a friend. After receiving an ultimatum from his sister Audrey, he formally evicts Leonor and her son.
Jake is devastated and tearfully pleads Tony's case, but is made to face reality. Brian encourages Jake to return his focus to his art and his upcoming application to LaGuardia. Some time later, Jake accompanies a group of fellow art students on a museum visit and is surprised to see Tony and some of his classmates on a tour. Jake watches from across a large atrium as Tony walks away, then quietly rejoins his own group to work on another sketch.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Written by: Ira Sachs, Mauricio Zacharias
- Cinematography: Óscar Durán
- Edited by: Mollie Goldstein, Affonso Gonçalves
- Music: Dickon Hinchliffe
- Production design: Alexandra Schaller
- Produced by: Lucas Joaquin, Christos V. Konstantakopoulos, Jim Lande, Ira Sachs
Cast
- Greg Kinnear as Brian Jardine
- Jennifer Ehle as Kathy Jardine
- Paulina García as Leonor
- Michael Barbieri as Tony Calvelli
- Theo Taplitz as Jake Jardine
- Talia Balsam as Audrey
- Maliq Johnson as Umar
- Anthony A. Flamminio as Joey
- Madison Wright as Julia
- John Procaccino as Mr. Plummer
Production
- Country: Brazil, Greece, United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Race Point Films, Faliro House Productions, Charlie Guidance Productions, Parts & Labor
- Themes: new york city, coming of age, best friend, brooklyn, new york city, landlord tenant relationship, dress shop, life lessons, past due rent, middle schoolers
On this film
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