As a comedy drama, Suncoast really excels at threading that needle between the two tones. It's a film in which both sides of the argument are completely understandable no matter how selfish the characters may act. Some of the deeper aspects are left unexplored but when the personal drama is this good that's not much of an issue.
Nico Parker has so much endearing awkwardness that the film mines for a lot of cringe and it works constantly. She also has a nice chemistry with Woody Harrelson, who is given a role perfectly suited to his rugged charm. Laura Linney has the hardest character to portray and succeeds at making sure she doesn't stray into caricature.
Laura Chinn's direction has a specificity within all the tropes that makes the film feel more personal, saving its most devastatingly emotional moment for the very end. The score by Este Haim and Christopher Stracey does a terrific job of setting the scene, from its very first notes you know exactly what kind of film this will be.
Nico Parker has so much endearing awkwardness that the film mines for a lot of cringe and it works constantly. She also has a nice chemistry with Woody Harrelson, who is given a role perfectly suited to his rugged charm. Laura Linney has the hardest character to portray and succeeds at making sure she doesn't stray into caricature.
Laura Chinn's direction has a specificity within all the tropes that makes the film feel more personal, saving its most devastatingly emotional moment for the very end. The score by Este Haim and Christopher Stracey does a terrific job of setting the scene, from its very first notes you know exactly what kind of film this will be.