Thought this was a great movie, but Jesse Eisenberg's character was annoyingly self-deluded and lost. Don't blame him, but I was wondering why exactly was he avoiding his wife? What was going on between those two, besides the simple fact that he was reluctant to be a father?
sharehe seemed he wasnt in love with her anymore or maybe ever..
sharePerhaps when he bumped into his ex-girlfriend at the hospital he realised he still had feelings for her. Hell of a time to realise it though. I didn't like that he left his wife and newborn and hid away at his father's place. And then he cheats on his wife too. What a sad mixed-up man/boy.
Most of the characters in this film were unlikable, aside from perhaps the father. But even he got annoying by tolerating the younger son's bad behaviour and calmly accepting that his wife had an affair with her colleague.
He even stops dating his son's teacher because his son doesn't like it. He seems to want to please everybody but himself.
I found all three males in this film pretty unlikable. They all should have been in therapy.
And all the pieces matter (The Wire)share
I think the issue all of the males had was that in some way they had idolized their mother, yet the all knew that she was (not very secretly) not happy unless she was taking pictures in the war zone. That's got to hurt some feelings.
At one point, the wife says that she thinks her husband is lucky because he has everything he wants "right there", and he says, "You do, too"... and she says nothing.
The father feels bad because he knew she came home for him and the boys, even though she was restless and unsatisfied, bored being a mother and housewife. He understood, but didn't seem to talk or do anything to resolve it. In fact, he doesn't even get angry when he finds out his wife was having an affair with her journalism partner. Because he knew all along, it's implied.
The oldest son is struggling because he is afraid now that he is married and has a child. He saw how tethered his mother felt because of her family. That is reinforced by his wife calling several times and saying "come home" like his father did to his mother. Considering the lack of communication in his family, he doesn't seem well-suited to be in a relationship anyway -- he says some rather cruel things to his brother about his dancing, his games, his writing, and that the girl he likes won't ever like him -- to "wait out" high school. Perhaps that is what he did himself.
The youngest boy knows/sees more than he lets on, as evidenced by his attention to detail in his writing. His dad following him around/spying on him implies that his dad has only suddenly taken an interest in him. He admits the communication problem is his. Likely, he hadn't paid too much attention to him while his mom was alive, and is only doing so now because he is concerned how the son will react when he finds out his mother's death was not an accident.
None of them seem to be bad, unlikable people, as some here have claimed. They're just selfish and internalizing/acting out in their own ways, rather than communicating with each other.