The directorial debut of Maya Forbes, who is known for her writing on films like Monsters Vs. Aliens, The Rocker, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, Infinitely Polar Bear, which has a 7.0 out of 10 stars on IMDb and 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, features Mark Ruffalo and Zoe Saldana in a compelling family dramedy.
It’s the late 70’s in Boston and Cam Stuart (Ruffalo) is a manic-depressive husband and father who is trying to prove himself by taking care of his children while his wife, Maggie (Saldana), is off earning her MBA to better their lives. Amelia and Faith deal with the transition and often unpredictable antics of their father running their world. The film is a character study that has truly hilarious moments, heartwarming ones, and heartbreaking ones as well.
Ruffalo’s performance is stellar as you can see the mood he is in clearly in his eyes and mannerisms. That scene is a great example of the dynamic developed between father and daughters in this film. Imogene Wolodarsky plays Amelia and Ashley Aufderheide plays the younger sister, Faith, who both do a fantastic job in their roles. Amelia is often the voice of reason and clearly has the harder time dealing with the stress than her younger sister. Saldana’s role is much less than the other three, but her scenes are powerful and her plight is real. She feels immense guilt for having to leave her children, but sees no other way for them to have a solid future.
My favorite scene has him breaking down and storming out of the house at night because he couldn’t take the responsibility any more. The girls don’t want to be left alone and cite potential rapists, but he simply tells them to not let them in. He makes it to the end of the hallway and looks back to see both his daughter standing there. The camera work alludes to the scene from the shining, their emotions echo it as well, but Ruffalo’s reaction is too great to reveal here, but it made me burst out in my own manic laughter. The scene comes back later, only flipped when the girls want to go play with their friends and he wants to go to stating, “How am I supposed to have my own life if you won’t let me do anything!”
I look forward to seeing what else Maya Forbes brings to the table with her future projects. I enjoyed every minute of this film and it was a nice reminder of just how talented Ruffalo can be. If you enjoy great acting, solid cinematography, and definitely solid directing this is a definite pick up. I give Infinitely Polar Bear 9 out of 10 Lithium pills!
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