Review of Runoff (2015) by Kevin A — 28 Jul 2015

Bleak, dreary and unresolved at the end, Runoff will not run off with any accolades and unfortunately for the emerging female directors' sorority, this effort by director Kimberly Levin is just a midwestern emotional flat tire.

Set in anywhere mid America Betty and Frank are farmers on hard times and the bank is on their porch demanding past due payments. Oh, what to do? Que the Al Gore scenario where neighbor farmer has barrels of expired pesticides that cannot be surrendered to the EPA due to masive fines.

Betty agrees to do the nasty business while husband Frank is too pure and wants nothing to do with the dirty business. Frank is diagnosed with something nasty but the film does not explain what. Cancer, tumors, exploding spleen, who knows? Running throughout is Sam, a precocious 8 year old and his almost grown brother Ben who eschews the farming life.

Ben has enormous talent as an artist and he pines for art school. Dad is not cool with that but dadj is secretive and we never know what his malady is. The film not only disappoints, but frustrates in so many unresolved aspects of the story.

I ahve not idea how or why the Tomatoes scores are as high as listed, but how knows. Alll I know is that this is a film that disappoints on every level. As with pesticides, avoid.