Review by Caitlin Zeigler
Ben Layten (Thomas Middleditch) wanted to end it all, but before he decided to do it, he decided to pinpoint where his life went wrong. Getting a divorce is what began to set off Ben to want to end it, but his best friend Tabby (Diana Bang) helped him to keep going. When Ben’s father Norm (Eric Keenleyside) had a heart attack, he told Ben that he almost had a sister. Norm told Ben that he and his wife adopted a baby girl, found out his wife was pregnant with Ben and gave her back to the adoption agency. Tabby decided to help Ben find his “almost sister”, even though she knew this was crazy. When Ben met his sister Hanna (Jess Weixler), he thought his life turned around for the better.
Hanna steals, breaks into places and seems just as crazy if not crazier than Ben. Tabby didn’t like or trust Hanna, but when she went to confront her and tell her she wouldn’t interfere, she found out some things that Ben needed to know. If things couldn’t get any worse, Ben ended up getting involved with his almost sister.
There are one or two more twists I won’t reveal, but Ben ends up realizing that if he wants to get his life together, then he has to step up and take control. This film gives a message that just because you have a mental illness doesn’t mean you can’t take control and live your life. It’s a drama and a dark comedy. Lots of people enjoyed this film, but it was weird to me that he wanted to find this woman to pretty much be his sister and then get into a relationship with her. They give a reason to make it somehow more okay, but I’m still a bit concerned. It’s supposed to be a quirky film about mental illness. It’s like an indie film version of ‘Silver Linings Playbook’. You’ll either like it or you won’t.
