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Robert De Niro, Paul Dano, Julianne Moore, Lili Taylor, Olivia Thirlby ... see more see more... , Eddie Rouse Jr. , Wes Studi , Steve Cirbus , Dale Dickey , Victor Rasuk , Liam Broggy , Chris Chalk , Thomas Middleditch , Sarah Quinn , Benjamin Foronda , Joshua Alscher , Dawn McGee , Billy Wirth , Michael Gibson , Kelly J. McCreary , Deirdre O'Connell , Katherine Waterston , Robert Andrews (II) , Michael Genadry , Kelli Crump , Dara Tomanovich , Jane Lee , Evan Wadle , Victor Pagan , Rony Clanton , Michael Buscemi , Lorenzo Murphy , William Sadler , Joseph Prioleau , Lee Stringer , John O'Brien , Joey Boots , Luis Moco , Marilyn Torres , Stephen Williams , Roy Milton Davis , Rufino Colon , Jeff Ware , Samira Wiley , Stuart Rudin , Gabriel Millman , Thomas Hoffman , Joyce Myricks , Dwight Folsom , Carlton Bembry , George Asatrian , Anthony Piccolo , Kevin Keels

Writer-director Paul Weitz turns his hand to this moving portrait of fathers and sons. Based on a true story, Being Flynn follows Nick Flynn (Paul Dano) who is shocked to have his eccentric and long-a... read more read more...bsent father, Jonathan (Robert De Niro) reach out to him unexpectedly. Still feeling the loss of his mother (played in flashbacks by Julianne Moore) in the midst of starting a new relationship with Denise (Olivia Thirlby), the last person Nick wants to see is his father. But you can't outrun fate and slowly Nick comes to realize he has been given the chance to make a real future not only for himself, but for his struggling father too. -- (C) Focus

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58% liked it

1,881 ratings

Critics

55% liked it

71 critics

R, 1 hr. 26 min.

Directed by: Paul Weitz

Release Date: March 2, 2012

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DVD Release Date: July 10, 2012

Stats: 46 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (46)

  • fb576433743
    April 1, 2012
    fb576433743
    Seems a tad pointless at times, but still a very watchable and quite interesting look at a difficult father-son relationship. There's no false sentimentalism here; Nick and Jonathan seem to have genuine problems liking each other at times, which offers a rather refreshing change ... read moreand keeps this from meandering into typical schmaltzy family drama territory. Although we're left without a sense of having reached any particular destination and with a nagging suspicion that some baggage has been left unclaimed along the way, it's still a rather affecting film with an unsurprisingly solid performance by Robert DeNiro, who seems to be having rather a good time playing a largely unsympathetic crank.
  • casillase1
    May 12, 2012
    casillase1
    A writer dealing addiction meets his estranged, drunken and delusional father at the homeless shelter he volunteers for.That's the premise of Being Flynn, an uneven but emotionally hard hitting film from writer-director Paul Weitz.

    Taken from Nick Flynn's 2004 memoir Another Bul... read morelshit Night In Suck City, Being Flynn is saturated in deep sadness. The excellent Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood) is Nick, a struggling writer, poet and playwright drifting through his twenties and then takes a job working at a New York City shelter where his girlfriend, Denise, works (lovely Olivia Thirlby). When he sees his father, Jonathan (Robert De Niro) he's floored. Jonathan too is a writer, one who thinks he's on the same level as Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway and J.D. Salinger and talks constantly of his opus Memoirs of a Moron, and also reveals truths about Nick's childhood and his mother (Julianne Moore) who has her own troubles.

    The film plays as an emotional face off between the father and son, with narration provided by Nick who hopes to better understand his troubled father. Dano displays amazing subtlety and nuance, a perfect foil to De Niro's often flamboyant performance. Weitz first directed De Niro in Little Fockers, but here he employs the actor's too often forgotten skills, one that recalls his emotionally charged performance in Awakenings. It's a marvelous performance from an old master.
  • fb1112584705
    April 19, 2012
    fb1112584705
    De Niro knocks it out the part with this one, his acting chops back to their old, youthful form! Dano really shows some range here and carries the film with relative ease. My movie of the year so far. Get to CAMELVIEW to check this out!
  • xbza006
    March 28, 2012
    xbza006
    Jonathan (De Niro), whom plays an ill writer, along with Nick Flynn (Dano, his son), attempt to understand each other flaws. Overall......an AWESOME FILM!
  • fb712625704
    February 27, 2012
    fb712625704
    In which Robert De Niro plays a crazy racist violent taxi driver. An adaptation that doesn't really have any reason to exist as a film.

View All Being Flynn Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
March 23, 2012
Roger Moore, McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Paul Weitz's gritty, sweet but mostly unsentimental film of Flynn's book puts a flawed, unpleasantly realistic face on homelessness and gives Robert De Niro his best role in a decade. Full Review

Colin Covert
March 22, 2012
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

It's been ages since De Niro tackled a character as rich and challenging as this, and he tackles it head-on. Full Review

Rafer Guzman
March 16, 2012
Rafer Guzman, Newsday

Weitz digs diligently for emotional truths and makes the most of his excellent cast. Full Review

Rick Groen
March 16, 2012
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

I'm happy to report that De Niro hasn't lost his chops. At least not quite. Full Review

Peter Howell
March 15, 2012
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Heads downward in every sense of the word. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
March 15, 2012
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

What's so satisfying about Weitz films like this one is how his lost boys and lost adults find themselves in the awkward dance of intimacy. Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz
March 15, 2012
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

The story is gripping, compelling. One wonders what De Niro might have done with such a role 30, 35 years ago. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
March 9, 2012
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

A little more nuance would benefit the film, which eventually starts to feel belabored, even bleak. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
March 8, 2012
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

A handful of acting moments aside, "Being Flynn" is a drama without much in the way of rewards. Full Review

Ty Burr
March 8, 2012
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

"Being Flynn'' is earnest to a fault, and it offers the now-rare sight of De Niro giving an actual performance. Full Review

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    • Jonathan Flynn: Of course, writers, especially poets, are particularly prone to madness.
    • Jonathan Flynn: I'm Jonathan Flynn. Everything I write is a masterpiece.
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  • Who does Flynn have a discussion with the next day [after being with Simone ]in The Librarian : Curse Of The Judas Chalice ?  Answer »
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