The Bachelors

Bill's wife has died. He and his son Wes cannot stay in the house they lived in; he takes a new job teaching mathematics and the two move across the country to a private school. Bill does not talk and cannot sleep. Wes is new at the school; he starts studying with a girl called Lacy, who has troubles of her own. At the school something begins between Bill and Carine, who teaches French, and he will not allow it. Kurt Voelker writes and directs. J. K. Simmons plays Bill, Josh Wiggins plays Wes and Julie Delpy plays Carine. The subject is grief not being spoken. Father and son live in the same house and do not raise it for months; the film shows that silence not as a choice but as an incapacity. What is interesting is how depression is given physically. Bill is not weak or sad; he is shown as someone who has lost function, and treatment is treated directly. J. K. Simmons is generally known for hard characters and the part here is entirely turned inward. The supporting characters are the weak side; the school and the circle of friends stay inside types. The narrative runs close to formula and the ending arrives at an emotional resolution. Who it is for: viewers who like American independent family drama and performance driven films. Who it is not for: it is predictable, the emotional register is high, and the youth strand is thin.