It's a well acted and real. It was too slow and the payoff at the and to mundane for my tastes.

A very touching movie that is also realistic in its portrayal of humans as messy. The kid is annoying sometimes! The adult is inflexible sometimes! And while this movie can simply be enjoyed as a story of a man who has the chance to see the world through a kid's eyes, that's not even what it's really about to me. It's even more about a child modeling for an adult what it looks like to feel your feelings, a lesson that feelings are not bad in spite of what the current generation of adults were raised to think. It's also a beautiful story of reconciliation and reconnection between siblings. There are layers here and anchored by Joaquin Phoenix's reliable performance it's even more than meets the eye.

I understand that this is an A-24 film and should be artistic, but I couldn't get into it. It has a very slow pace and after 20 minutes I was getting anxious for something to make me feel obligated to continue watching.

I understand that this is an A-24 film and should be artistic, but I couldn't get into it. It has a very slow pace and after 20 minutes I was getting anxious for something to make me feel obligated to continue watching.

In the eye-opening greyscale, formulaic routine becomes more thoughtfully edged and approached innocently as Joaquin Phoenix, in recognizably reminisced form, interacts with a youthful perspective over the ever-changing world through his sweet dynamic with Woody Norman’s purifying mechanism as the discourse’s central heart within secondary extents. (B+)

Thought provoking opening lines, but the story isn't as much. C'mon C'mon stay awake ...

It's like being in the era after Saturday morning cartoons and eating cold plain oatmeal for breakfast with someone else's kid. Can someone just make some pancakes and turn on some cartoons? Mildly amusing for awhile then it just becomes a snore as nothing has developed, nothing is happening, and nothing has resolved... like cold, plain oatmeal.

Great exterior cinematography for the most part, beautiful shots of the cities where the story takes place. The movie is a bit convoluted, using three main angles - interviews with children, the relationship between a brother and sister, and the relationship between the sister's son and the uncle - to make the same points over and over... and over. It could lose 40 minutes and be a much better film. By the end it is "OK, I get it, can this be over now?" Some unearned scenes near the end are a bit eye rolling and do not ring true. It is a very indulgent and flawed piece of film making. Might be better received by people who think it is super cool and amazing to have and raise children. What it shows really is how mundane and quotidian the daily family conflicts of life are. These points were made to me, but not sure the makers of this were shooting for that, probably more like "Isn't this touching and deep and philosophical and meaningful?" which I did not find it to be.

I do think that its basically a cliché, well made and acted, but a cliché nonetheless which becomes more obvious as the movie goes along. That said, Phoenix is unusually subdued here which is the strongest aspect of the movie.

My favorite movie to date. This movie has such a great message and the actors do amazing at portraying it.

This is an unusual and very engaging movie. It's a drama about an uncle and his intriguing 9-year-old nephew. It's a drama, but It has the feeling of a documentary. The acting is incredible by both Joaquin Phoenix and the boy—so real! The score, also, is unusual and at many times delightful. It reminded me of the Felini movie "8 1/2." But its tempo is faster, more appropriate for today. It's a work of art, and I highly recommend it.

This is a sleeper. Woody Norman stole the show and, lamely wasn't listed as a star. Yes, Joaquin Phoenix was excellent as always but Woody takes the gold if for no other reason than the film was said to be unscripted and the kid was a total natural. Highly recommended.

It had its sweet moments but it felt like it took itself too seriously and didn't have a real point.

"A very accurate and beautifully told story about the peculiarities of raising a child as well as a wellmade depiction of the emotional entanglement of these loveable and curious beings. Really hits home when you were lucky enough to experience parenthood."

I kept falling asleep and finally gave up. To me it was very slow and boring and I could not see any reason to continue watching. The boy's character really got on my nerves. I bailed out with about 50 minutes left. The thought of 50 more minutes of conversation leading nowhere was too much.

Nice antinatalism film. Helpful demonstration of what a waste of time it is to spend your limited time on this earth worrying about and raising a child. You either do it properly and it consumes most of your life, or you do it poorly and thus shouldn't do it at all. A salient quote from the movie: "nobody knows what they're doing with these kids but they keep doing it". If only more people would stop to think "should we be doing this" before creating more children. But I have to give this film a poor rating because it missed a very important theme: how unhealthy people are creating unhealthy children who will suffer from that poor health. It results in a society full of diseased, poorly functioning people, resulting in the dystopia we're currently living in.

Mike Mills' screenplay and Joaquin Phoenix's acting are both equally charming, but what floored me the most was Woody Norman!

This black and white film starring Joaquin Phoenix feels very real and raw despite being a bit slower paced.

Joaquin Phoenix returns as an uncle who had to take care of his nephew while working on a project asking kids and teenagers about the future. For about like 30 minutes I wasn't sure what the movie was trying to do. There's some quotes from books or works that didn't feel like they belong to the movie. Then the interview with the kids also felt random. However, this beautiful piece of film took its time to grow on me and suck me into the conversations. The most endearing aspect was the sweet yet frustrating relationship between Joaquin Phoenix's character, the uncle who's acting like a father figure to his nephew, played by Woody Norman. It's a journey on learning to be a parent and understanding a child's diverse and complicated mindset. Both characters had a lot of cute moments together, but in between were also dark, confusing, and frustrating moments that made you feel like kids are the worst thing ever. Phenomenal performances by Phoenix and especially the kid Norman made the relationship ever more convincing. As for the series of interviews, they took awhile before I saw how they connected to the theme of parenting. It's fascinating how these kids can have such deep and mature thoughts. There were so many interviews that lasted until the end of the credits. Aesthetically, this movie looked beautiful. The black-and-white look along with the music and recordings from Joaquin Phoenix created a calming and immersive atmosphere that invited me to listen to the conversations. Overall, what an emotional, thoughtful, and breathtaking film.

This is so beautiful and so natural and real. Totally loved it.