Little Boxes

Authenticity and insight into what frightens and afflicts writers, musicians, artists, etc. are what keep this movie afloat when it somewhat loses its momentum near the end. Because any veteran New Yorker/urban dweller will recognize the truth that lies at the heart of what makes Mack and Gina decide to leave their beloved (but too expensive) Brooklyn for a job in the Pacific Northwest in Little Boxes. Who doesn't get sick of the city after spending years in a too-expensive apartment trying to make your hustle work, especially if that hustle is something in the creative field, which brings tens of thousands of fellow artists -- aka competitors -- to NYC each year?

Credit is due to Lynskey, Ellis, and Jackson; they ground the movie with their believable, natural performances. Nonetheless, what Little Boxes seems to forget about movies is that they not only have to start strong, but they need to end that way, too, with credible plot diversions and believable wrap-ups that don't leave viewers hanging or befuddled. (For instance: Can mold mitigation actually be completed in three hours?) And while the film pokes fun at all its characters, even Mack and Gina, it reserves its sharpest critiques for suburbanites, trading on cliches that are overplayed.