Parents' Guide to Little Men

This film operates on a hushed scale, which, for the most part, works effectively. But that ultimately doesn't lead to making a lasting impression; while the forces that rock both Jake and Tony's families -- death, displacement, financial disputes -- loom large, Little Men holds them at arm's length for too long to climb toward an effective ending. What Little Men does well is show the progression of tween and teen friendship -- the push-pull, the slow build of trust, the discomfiting approach of adolescence and the larger problems of the outside world.

The film also does a fairly astute job of showing how adult concerns can impact childhood innocence, how grown-ups' worries begin to weigh on their children. But what of the "big men" and "big women"? They aren't particularly well-formed in this interesting but flawed drama. They're quick sketches rather than the detailed portraits that both Taplitz and Barbieri -- equal standouts in the movie -- are able to render.