What if the one thing that makes us truly happy is taken
away from us? What if the one thing that can change us for the better is denied
on us? What if the one thing that will complete us as a person also fills
another person’s emptiness? In Like
Dandelion Dust, we will be taken into the lives of two families and the
single truth that will shake the balance between husbands and wives, parents
and children, and hope and surrender.
The movie begins with a scene from seven years ago. Two
police officer came to the Porter house and drunk Rip (Barry Pepper) answers to
the knock. Upon their investigation, they found his wife Wendy (Mira Sorvino)
injured and Rip was arrested and jailed for domestic assault and alcoholism.
Presently, Rip is released from prison and Wendy takes him home. Rip is now
sober and has taken anger management courses. Soon, he talks to Wendy about
starting a family. But Wendy has a secret – she has given birth to their child
after he was sent to prison. Having limited resources, she has given up the
baby for adoption to a couple living in Florida.
In Florida, the Campbells live an idyllic life with their
adopted boy Joey (Maxwell Perry Cotton). But the peace is shattered by one
phone call – there is a loophole in the adoption papers as the father’s
signature is forged and Rip is now laying claim to his son. Worse, the judge
upholds the Porters’ claim and the Campbells will have to give Joey to them.
Molly Campbell (Kate Levering) is devastated with the news while Jack (ColeHauser) desperately seeks all legal avenues, even contacting a congressman
friend to intervene but to no avail.
Trial visits are then scheduled. For the Porters, how will
Joey’s visits change them? Will Wendy be a better mother now? Will this redeem
Rip from all his mistakes and helplessness? For the Campbells, how will Joey’s
absence affect their otherwise happy home? Will they risk everything to win
back the child that had been taken away from them? Or will the fights become
more personal?
Like Dandelion Dust
is one of the best films of 2009 for two reasons – a moving storyline with
graceful characterization, and superb performances from the actors. Based on
the novel of the same name by Karen Kingbury, the film deals with a subject
matter uncommon to most mainstream movies – child custody battle. The conflict
is complicated and the scenario is a lose-lose situation. Whatever actions the principal
figures do is driven by emotional pressure and desperation, so it is quite hard
to root for particular people. For Wendy Porter, her past forced her to abandon
her child. For Rip Porter, he sees his child as a chance to start his life
anew. Though he returns to drinking alcohol and being violent in the later
part of the film, his actions are borne out of his frustration from being
unable to provide more to his family and be a better father to his child. For Molly
Campbell, she will lie to people in order to get her child back. And for Jack
Campbell, he will resort to anything, including bribery and “kidnapping”, to
keep her family intact. So in the end, there are no villains, only people doing
regrettable acts in the name of love.
Though both Mira Servino and Kate Levering deliver an outstanding
performance as distraught mothers, it is the two fathers who create the perfect
tension and drama to make the film gripping and highly melodramatic. Barry
Pepper steps up as drunkard husband who turns sober and loving. Both his characters
are believable and his commitment to the role is palpable with the way he
projects compassion, hope and violence. Cole Hauser is commendable too, infusing
certain vulnerability and aggressiveness in his character as a deprived father.
All in all, though most
elements are quite familiar and predictable, Like Dandelion Dust succeeds in giving relevant and compelling
story. Though it projects simplicity, both the subject and the characters have
layers of complexities than will definitely affect anyone even long after watching
the movie. Hence, five stars out of five for the film.
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