The script for Danny Collins written by Director Dan Fogelman is so smart and true
to life it’s scary at times (such as the accurate portrayal of ADHD), and the
fine actors make it shine even more.
Loosely based on a true story about a British folk singer, Steve
Tilston—whom the movie calls “Danny Collins”—who discovered years later that
John Lennon had written a letter to him that was delivered to someone
else. The film uses the letter to
tell its story about a rock star who, by this time, is aging and performing the
same material he has for 30 years.
Then his agent (Plummer) surprises him with the letter, and it has an
immediate impact on him in a positive sense of straightening up his boozy,
drug-filled life and starting to write music again.
Danny remembers the son (Cannavale) he never
met, who is now grown and living in New Jersey with a wife (Garner) and child
(Eisenberg). The son, Tom
Donnelly, has made it clear that he wants nothing to do with his father and
wants him to stay away from Samantha, his wife, and their daughter Hope. But Danny is committed to his
self-styled rehabilitation, and makes offers Tom can hardly refuse. They go back and forth, with Tom trying
desperately to hold onto his anger, and Danny never giving up on his plan. Their interchanges—which include wife and
daughter—are both funny and agonizing at the same time. In the midst of it all spunky Hope
takes in everything that is being said and voices her opinions in a way that an
indulgent father has to listen to.
Danny has rented a room at the local Hilton,
where he’s had a grand piano shipped in, clearly intending to work; but he’s
not above trying to have a little fun with the all-business hotel manager, Mary
(Bening). They get into verbal
jousting, and when she finally relents and has some tequila, they actually get
close and start sharing their troubles.
The story has many developments on all fronts
as Danny progresses and slips backward, and money starts to become an
issue. All of this has to be
worked out, and Fogelman’s script never lets the viewer down.
Pacino is a master at portraying complex
characters with precision and fullness, and Bening is well placed in being his
counter force. The
performance of Cannavale is at its usual level of excellence, and Garner, who
has a less well fleshed out role, still has to convincingly be the go-between
in father-son struggles—which she does.
Plummer, like Pacino, has a long history of fine performances, and his
presence in this film is true to form.
The child Giselle Eisenberg steals the scene every time she is on, and I
SO appreciated her lines being authentically child-like and not obviously
written by an adult. They are so
true to life, I wondered if Fogelman was getting that part of the script from
his experience with a real child.
Giselle clearly has a future in acting if she maintains an interest in
it.
I hadn’t expected much from Danny Collins the movie, and was
thrilled when it became clear that it was going to be so good. It is fresh, believable in terms of
character development, and it maintains suspense throughout. Of course, much of what happens could
only occur if at least one character had access to big bucks, but still, it is
a fine work of art nevertheless.
An insightful, entertaining look at a
modern family’s dilemmas.
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