Pearl

The childless man-child and the motherless daughter enter into a compressed, turbulent learning curve together. Pearl must adapt to a new neighborhood, a new school, a different socio-economic class (Jack was never financially settled because he could never get along with anyone long enough to form successful business relationships).  Pearl must grow up sooner than she expected to, and Jack must simply grow up, finally. Mistakes are made. 

The film explores dark territory but treats the subjects with emotional intelligence and sensitivity. Whether or not Jack and Pearl come to mean anything to each other, the journey they take toward becoming “father and daughter” is enlightening. 

LaPaglia is always a sturdy presence, and his performance anchors the film. Newcomer Larsen Thomson as Pearl is wonderful as well. The relationship struggle is honest and intense without being saccharine or corny.  Material like Pearl in the wrong hands, or spun for the wrong audience, can result in a melodramatic throw-away grab for cheap train-wreck emotions, but Roth avoided that fate, creating a solid story about fictional characters dealing with very real problems that many families have faced. With masterful cinematography and pace, and music created by Patty Scialfa, the film is solid and polished. Roth makes it clear the viewer is in skilled hands. 

“Telling this story was a cathartic act for Roth.”

At the center is the question of meaning. When your youth is behind you, and one quiet night you find yourself at the dining room table with a bottle and a glass, what makes the difference between judging your life to be a failure or a success? How much of that is within your control?

Telling this story was a cathartic act for Roth. It began when his sister was killed in the same way that Helen dies in the film. His troubled and suicidal brother-in-law bought a shotgun and killed her, then himself. Roth needed to explore these themes of mental illness, suicide, and families torn apart by domestic violence. Pearl also surfaces the issue of gun violence and asks us to consider how many lives would be saved if guns weren’t so easily accessible. 

Roth wrote in USA Today,” Gun violence is systemic the way racism is systemic. No film will change this. But I do believe that art has the power to prepare people psychologically for change, and that is what I wish for the viewers of my film. We must prioritize life.”