X (2008) User Reviews

A Good First Short for Brolin

[JustCuriosity · 8/10 · 9 March 2008]

I saw Josh Brolin's short at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. It is certainly a decent directorial debut for Brolin. The story is a simple one of a man who escapes from prison to find his daughter and bury his wife. It is a moving film that presents a powerful father-daughter relationship. This is particularly intriguing since Brolin his directing his own daughter in the short film. The filming and acting does a good job of developing the characters in the short period of about 16 minutes. The audience was really able to connect with the characters and the sense of place. The film is certainly a dark one that touches on love, family, and death. The ending is a little abrupt and overly melodramatic unfortunately. However, these could be resolved if Brolin develops the film into a feature which he suggested in the Q&A might be a possibility. The film certainly represents a good start for Brolin as a director.

Captivating!

[kevinmichaelcoil · 10/10 · 25 April 2020]

I was immediately drawn into the story. What will be the outcome of this father and daughter journey? For a short of only 15 minutes it included two eye opening plot twists. Great acting from young Eden under the excellent directing work of her father Josh Brolin!

Awful

[kirkus910 · 1/10 · 5 April 2008]

I saw this at the Phoenix Film Festival and really disliked it. For such a notable celebrity, how was Brolin not able to gather better actors, a better script, better lighting, or better anything? The daughter's performance was terrible, though realistically the script was miserable so it would be tough to get a good performance out of anyone. Undoubtedly the direction didn't help it either. When the daughter threatened the morgue guy at the end, saying how he killed her father, it was some of the worst dialogue I've ever come across in a film. And I watch student films all the time! The speech about being a thirteen year old girl "in the middle of her teenage years" made zero sense. At least on Earth. She was supposed to be so cool and tough but her character and performance were unbelievably forced. This movie must've been written and green-lighted during the same drinking session.

There was a special thanks to the Coen brothers at the end of the movie. I think Brolin should've shown them the script first. There is no way they would've approved. Of the 8 shorts I watched, this was the WORST. And yet it was made by the guy who probably has the biggest bank roll and best connections. I'm really bothered by this. I don't write reviews hardly ever, but this movie got me so worked up I went out of my way to do this. Overall this is worse than any student film I've seen in a long, long time. If you get a chance to see it, watch it to make your own judgments. But really, what a waste of tape and time. What a disappointment from Josh Brolin.