Buddy is a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance. Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a momentous choice: hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life.
How did Branagh manage to make a film with so many emotional storylines feel so hollow? It was enjoyable enough and is technically a very well made film and I can see why the academy loved it, but the emotional aspects didn't land for me. Maybe it's because the film jumps from one emotional scene to another with a completely different emotion, never really allowing the feelings to set in for the viewer. Storylines are set up and then forgotten about until they are hastily wrapped up later on with no emotional payoff. Maybe that's the biggest problem here. The film is trying to do too much in too little time.
