Plot
After a neighborhood tragedy, two adolescent brothers confront changing relationships, the mystery of nature, and their own mortality.
Release Year: 2013
Rating: 6.5/10 (186 voted)
Director:Daniel Patrick Carbone
Storyline
After a neighborhood tragedy, two adolescent brothers confront changing relationships, the mystery of nature, and their own mortality. Hide Your Smiling Faces is an atmospheric exploration of rural American life through the often distorted lens of youth.
No film at the Tribeca Film Festival or any film in recent memory has
captured the cultural and significant impacts of tragedy in the minds
of adolescence than Daniel Patrick Carbone's Hide Your Smiling Faces.
Engagingly suspenseful, this tale about two brothers, after a tragedy
occurs in their rural town, must confront their own demons that include
relationships, nature, and morality. Tommy (Ryan Jones) and Eric
(Nathan Varnson) are confronted with morally conflicting views of life
and as the two try to siphon their own processes surrounding their
tragedy, an underlining beauty exists that I'm not sure I fully
understand after the film. Hide Your Smiling Faces lays it on and lays
it on hard as these two boys encounter several instances of adult
situations through the eyes of young children. Writer/director Carbone
isn't troubled to ask the tough questions of youth and as the boys
battle through their layers of guilt, innocence, and even sexuality,
Carbone explores the soul of youth and comes up with a phenomenal
portrait that stands proudly next to classics like Stand by Me (1986).
The dynamic Nathan Varnson and purely magical Ryan Jones are simply
perfection in their roles. Varnson, who is very reminiscent of Hunter
McCracken's powerhouse turn in The Tree of Life (2011), is somberly
brilliant and he arranges emotion after emotion on top of his youthful
persona. His execution is truly dazzling and it's a inspirational
performance that stands as the stone pillar of the film. Ryan Jones is
equally effective and mounts the single finest scene of any film seen
this year so far with absolute precision. Diverse and adaptable in any
given scene, these two boys carry the entire framework of the film and
are the most beloved trait for you to take home. Daniel Patrick Carbone
is a jack of all trades who not only writes and directs the film with
an infinite amount of passion but manages to edit the film to a subdued
aura that is both pleasing and smooth. Not to mention his intention to
give the audience several instances of apprehension that can give a
person with a pacemaker an early trip to the grave, Carbone places guns
in the hands of children, puts them near the ledges of a bridge, and
even puts them face to face with the dangers of nature. While suicide
even plays a prominent theme, Carbone's subtle approaches to how one
can interpret the death of a loved one are astutely profound. It's damn
near perfection in every sense. His filmmaking style and imagery are
very Malick-esque and his deep-rooted appreciation for nature is, well,
appreciated. What makes him a true professional is he doesn't just lay
it on us for the sake of art, he believes in the message that the
Mother Nature is trying to convey. Surveying the decomposition of an
animal becomes a stapled foundation for the child in all of us to stand
on. I found myself richly tearful, examining the mutation of emotions
as they manifest themselves into different behaviors. You can't ask
more from a film. Not to mention, an eighty-minute endeavor such as
this. Hide Your Smiling Faces is a magnificent portrait and Carbone's
paintbrush laid strokes of love, anger, confusion, and a rainbow of
emotions to indulge the audience. It's one of the most pleasant
surprises experienced at a festival thus far.
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