This Is Martin Bonner (2013)

Directed by: Chad Hartigan
Country: USA

Movie Review: In this drama, written and directed by Chad Hartigan, we can see two men trying to restart their lives in two different ways. Martin Bonner (Paul Enhoorn) is in his late 50’s, and with stubborn determination is doing the best he can to reconstruct his life in Reno, Nevada, where he moved after a painful divorce that left him broke. He left two children in Maryland: a daughter, with whom he speaks often on the cellphone, and a son who runs a gallery and never has time for his dad. Now working for a charitable organization, his life will become easier to handle when he gets to know Travis (Richmond Arquette), a man who spent 12 years in prison after killing someone due to drunk driving. Both men showed to have many things in common, and their conversations flow easily and unforced, covering subjects such as wives and children, Christianity and faith, and the hardness of building a new life from scratch. Helmer Chad Hartigan found is own unhurried and observant look in this earnest, adult, and humanistic story that not for once seemed unrealistic. We can’t say its pace is enthusiastic or vibrant, yet “This Is Martin Bonner” belongs to those unpretentious tales, in which nothing relevant seems to happen, but when better analyzed, we realize there’s a lot of relevant details going on, worthy to dig and think about. Not suitable for all audiences, it can be better absorbed if watched in a non-tiring day.