Norman (2010)

I remember thinking to myself: what lead me to see this movie?. As I made my selection of the day, I took some time to try and recap the reasons behind my interest. And then, after watching it, it hit me. Probably the trailer. Minutes later, I checked if I had shared it before... and there it was.

My reaction: "It gave me goosebumps"... a clear sign that I was expecting something great.
One thing is for sure, I was definitely not expecting the final outcome...

Norman (2010) It's not an easy movie to handle. It's one of the most dark and twisted I've seen recently.

The film takes its name from the lead character, a 18 year old kid with a great sense of awareness and responsibility - to a certain extent - that lives with his terminal ill Dad. He has a cancer on his stomach and chooses not to do anything about it, much to his son's dismay. We soon find out that his Father still struggles with the loss of his wife, which creates the idea that he has given up on life with hopes of a after-life re-encounter (this is me giving space to my interpretation). 

Obviously Norman doesn't realize this and truth be told, how can he? Regardless of your age, maturity, life experience and what not... it is very difficult to accept such an attitude, specially coming from a father. This - among with his Mother's passing - lead Norman to feel like a misfit over life's occurrences but also for his line of thinking. 

As you can see, this is only part of the setup and it's already very disturbing.

You would assume you want to sympathize with the main character, but I felt it was really had... Trying to think about it clearly, I have to say Dan Bryd did a great role. Probably wouldn't get anyone better to play such a awkward and damaged boy, however, in this film Richard Jenkins is the one to praise the most. The guy is just phenomenal as an actor, providing most of Norman's best scenes.

Another key element is the soundtrack composed by Andrew Bird, which is beautiful and fits the entire narrative. Just makes it so much easier to watch...