Lamb (2015)

Lamb: Directed by Ross Partridge. With Ross Partridge, Oona Laurence, Jess Weixler, Tom Bower. When a man meets a young girl in a parking lot he attempts to help her avoid a bleak destiny by initiating her into the beauty of the outside world. The journey shakes them in ways neither expects.

“u0026quot;Lambu0026quot; (2015 release; 96 min.) brings the story of David Lamb, a guy down on his luck. As the movie opens, we see David visit his sick father and itu0026#39;s not long afterwards that we learn his father has passed away, and on top that David has been kicked out by his wife, and Davidu0026#39;s boss tells him he needs to take some time off due to his affair with a co-worker. The next day David gets approached in a parking lot by a young lady who wants a cigarette. The two strike up a conversation, and from there a friendship develops. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, youu0026#39;ll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCouple of comments: this movie is a labor of love from under-the-radar actor Ross Partridge, who also directs and wrote the script (based on the critically well-received debut novel of the same name by Bonnie Nadzam). Partridge navigates the difficult task of portraying a relationship between a middle-aged man and an 11 yr. old girl, both of them two lost souls looking for some redemption, that can be viewed as just a friendship or maybe something more (platonically). It often makes for unsettling watching, and I will admit I came close to walking out of the theater a couple of times. Oona Lawrence, whom we saw not long ago in u0026quot;Southpawu0026quot;, shines as the little girl Tommie. Much of this is also a road movie (they are driving to and then back from Davidu0026#39;s family cabin way out west somewhere). There are some great side performances, including from Jess Weixler as Davidu0026#39;s co-worker Linny. I very much enjoyed the movieu0026#39;s score, composed by Daniel Belardinelli.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Lambu0026quot; opened out of the blue today on a single screen for all of Greater Cincinnati without any pre-release hype or advertising. The early evening screening where I saw this at turned out to be a private screening: I literally was the only person there. I canu0026#39;t imagine that this movie will play more than one week in the theater, so if you want to check this out, youu0026#39;ll need to get VOD or eventually the DVD release.”