Bravetown

Josh, a New York teenager who makes electronic music, is sent by court order after an overdose to live with a father he has never met in North Dakota. The town he lands in has lost soldiers to the war and has been shrinking with every funeral. At the high school there is a dance team nobody takes seriously, and Josh starts making music for them. It is Daniel Duran's first film. The story follows the dance-competition template but what it actually cares about is a town that does not know what to do with its grief, and Josh Duhamel carries that line as the therapist. Lucas Till leads, with Maria Bello and Laura Dern in support. The formula is obvious and the execution is honest. Who it is for: viewers who like youth drama and stories about recovering through music. Who it is not for: anyone tired of the genre's conventions.