Having just lived through a divorce, writer Chris (Derek Babb) plans to
bury himself in work when he receives a call that his mum (Sarah England)
has died - which forces him to leave New York for his sleepy West Texan
hometown for the first time in 7 years. Coming home forces him to confront
himself with his childhood, which was anything but happy, due to his
always absent, philandering father (Marc Wasserman), who still was always
quick to show his disappointment that Chris hadn't grown up to be a manly
man (and dad hasn't changed at all on both accounts). But coming home is
more difficult than he had ever expected: While he had left back in the
day to free himself of the life that has been suffocating him, everybody
thinks he has run away, his brother (Rob Novak), his best friend (Mike
Donis), but especially his high school love Maggie (Terissa Kelton), who
has waited for him all those years. She makes attempts to get back
together with him, and he doesn't push her away even, quite the contrary,
but fails to get back in tune with smalltown life again, which doesn't
seem to have changed at all since he left - and yet it's impossible for
him to relay this to those he has left behind - and it takes some time
before Chris even realizes it's time to do some soul-searching ... DisAssocioationVille
is a very touching and deeply personal film that will however ring true
with everyone who has ever left his old life behind (and haven't we all to
a degree). What makes this movie work better than most similar films is
that it doesn't offer any simple answers, doesn't a one-size-fits-all
solution for its dilemma - and thus escapes the kitsch that often comes
with films like this one. Also, the film features a host of very
believable characters, ably portrayed by a first-rate cast, and the
direction is suitably subtle so as to not distract from the story or
heighten it at all the wrong moments. A pretty good movie actually!
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