Fathers and Daughters ** (2015, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Aaron Paul, Jane Fonda, Diane Kruger, Bruce Greenwood) – Movie Review

Director Gabriele Muccino’s heart-tugger is an old-fashioned women’s film, done with plenty of confidence and expertise but unfortunately not enough skill. With a good, expert cast, the talent’s all there, but there are gaping holes throughout the movie for them to fall into.

Amanda Seyfried shapes up to be the Bette Davis de nos jours, in a stalwart performance, but she’s battling uphill throughout against Brad Desch’s weak, cliché-ridden screenplay that runs to nearly two hours and seems much longer.

Fathers and Daughters runs smoothly enough, with two different time zones: the late-Eighties past, in which Russell Crowe’s Jake Davis is a Pulitzer-winning writer who grapples with being a widower after a car crash and father to eight-year-old Katie (Kylie Rogers) after a mental breakdown. And then there’s the present, 2o-odd years later, when his 30-year-old daughter Katie (Seyfried) is a psychologist with abandonment issues.

It’s a sign of something wrong when Diane Kruger and Bruce Greenwood are none too convincing as young Katie’s aunt and uncle, who look after her for the seven months Jake is away in the asylum, and battle him for custody of the girl. Aaron Paul does his best as the nice man who tries to break through Katie’s self-protective, self-destructive shell. Jane Fonda does her best as Jake’s literary agent. All four good actors are exposed in weakly written roles.

Crowe has probably got the best role, but some would prefer him as a gladiator rather than a suffering dad, while Seyfried shows again that is talented and appealing, even here.

The plush production, handsome photography and smart music make Fathers and Daughters smooth and easy-going, but don’t make it any more credible. Diehard romantics and old Hollywood escapist movie buffs are amply catered for.

© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 3050

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