The Young Kieslowski (2014) Reviews

• Really adorable film!!

  thomaspeff2015-03-30

  Really enjoyed the film. Super cute mix of emotions...happy, sad, funny, surprising and serious. It had a very similar feel to the film Juno which I thought was also quite good. The young leads are great. Haley Lu Richardson is a very talented actress, who no doubt has a promising career ahead of her. Malgarini as the geeky guy w/ 'old testament hair' -- awesome line by the way -- is totally lovable, even when he's being spineless. The two sets of parents bookend the adult reaction...one supportive, one not so much. The supporting friends add a bit of comedy and quirkiness too...all are a little off-beat in their own various and lovable ways.

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• Nice Try

  dansview2016-03-19

  This was long, kind of boring, and lacking in joy. But it was otherwise well done. The leads were adorable and convincing. They put major thought into what to do about their predicament and you could really feel their angst. I appreciated that. The picture really highlights how something that is akin to blowing one's nose for a guy, can produce earth-shattering consequences that never go away. It also shows how the woman gets stuck with the consequence. If it had been even a half hour shorter it would have been near perfect. I just felt that it dragged out too long with the same existential questions plaguing our characters over and over. Well, finally a movie where the people do the right thing and it's not politically correct.

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• Two freshmen at Caltech need to grow up faster than intended.

  TxMike2016-05-31

  We saw this movie on Netflix streaming. It apparently was only released at various film festivals in 2014 and 2015, then went to online, never had a normal theatrical release. The premise is simple. Ryan Malgarini (about 21) is Brian Kieslowski, about to go off to start college at Caltech as a freshman. He is a good kid and good student, he will major in Physics (Yay Einstein!). His mother, who happens to be dying from cancer, gives him the talk, using her checklist, and we see that Brian is uncomfortable listening to his mother talk about sex. He goes off to college and quickly finds himself at an evening party, and soon catches the eye of pretty Haley Lu Richardson (about 19, a really good young actress) as Leslie Mallard. She is quickly getting drunk on too much beer but finds Brian a nice boy to become friends with. She leans over to whisper in his ear then shouts, "I'm a virgin" as I suppose the scriptwriter thinks drunk college kids behave. Nonetheless it sets up what will be the core story here. Brian escorts Leslie home to her apartment, she asks him to stay, and the next morning he leaves with a big smile. Six weeks later we see Leslie consulting with a doctor and he tells her a high level of a certain hormone indicates she might be pregnant with twins. The rest of the story is about Leslie, Brian, and their respective parents working out what is best to do. Leslie has strong Christian beliefs, and also feels an attachment to her unborn babies so doesn't want an abortion. Brian doesn't really want to become a dad as a teenager but he also wants to keep Leslie happy. Leslie's dad, a writer, wants her to abort the babies and threatens to cut off her college funding if she doesn't. The movie is alternately serious and funny, the two leads are very well cast. SPOILERS: Leslie's dad manipulates her into following him, in Brain's car, to the abortion clinic. But as they ride Brian realizes she really doesn't want to do that so when dad turns into the clinic he keeps driving, they go back to Pasadena, dad disowns Leslie, Brian goes on a rebellious romp and not contacting Leslie for months, but at the time of delivery they all get together, they have a boy and a girl, their future is unwritten.

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• Had its moving moments but felt short in showing sympathetic protagonists. Main role played with conviction, being only good part of this film

  JvH482015-05-15

  Saw this at the Leiden film festival 2014 (LIFF), where it was selected for the American Indie Competition. Well constructed script, ample ingredients, and developments spread evenly over time. But that is not all there is for a movie that should pull you in, and as such make you feel along with the protagonists, or at least with some of them. It had its moving moments, however, but not sufficient to compensate. The most disturbing element (for me) was Leslie's stubbornness around keeping the child(s), no matter the consequences. She declared everyone not in favor, against her. Only black and white, no discussion about a compromise nor planning ahead to find a decent way to proceed. I would not be able to deal with such a hardliner in real life, and meeting one in a movie, on a safe distance, does not help in understanding their reasoning. On the other hand, this role is played with lots of conviction, at least it worked to impress me. The latter is a form of silver lining, turning this movie into one that is convincingly carried by main character Leslie. Her father knew her very well, I deduce in hindsight, as he told her upfront that she always picked up the latest hype. He deemed the Pro Life movement a hype that would not last forever. The latter was his rebuttal when Leslie called in her Christian belief and stated to not even think about an abortion. Yet, half a year later, she admitted to have dropped Christianity. In other words, she lightheartedly follows every wind in whatever direction it blows. In any case that is the impression we get from the story, even more worrisome for the future her newborn child will have. All in all, the annoyance I felt because of Leslie's behavior, is a positive feature of this movie. In hindsight it demonstrates the conviction displayed by the actress. Yet, I've had problems with hardliners all my life, and I fear that people like we saw in this movie, really exist to annoy other people who see gray tones between black and white. Some may consider me wishy-washy while always looking for realistic compromises. Moreover, I know from close-by that some life changing decisions (getting married, having a child, and so on) are not made rationally like a profit/loss account.

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