The Odd Life of Timothy Green is a nice, heart-warming surprise that features fantasy and magic along with real emotions about acceptance, forgiveness and letting go. Writer/director Peter Hedges (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, Dan in Real Life) constructs a story that has a meaningful message and stays away from being simple-minded family entertainment. There is no way this movie will be unable to satisfy the entire family.
Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Garner play Jim and Cindy Green, a young married couple who would do anything to have a child of their own. However, it’s just not meant to be. So in order to move on, they write down everything they would want their child to be. Once they are done, the list goes in a box and is buried in their garden. But once a storm blows through, Timothy Green (CJ Adams) appears with leaves growing from his ankles and covered in dirt. An extraordinary child who was created from the wishes of a couple who desperately want to be parents. This occurrence isn’t explained and there is no reason for it to be.
Once Timothy enters the lives of Jim and Cindy, everything changes in their small hometown of Stanleyville. From their work to their families that have no idea where their newly grown son has come from, Timothy gets their attention for better or worse. He is sweet, sensitive, and brutally honest. Also, he is not very athletic and is picked on at school. But through it all, he stays true to himself and shows acceptance and wisdom.
Jim and Cindy are finally the parents they have only dreamed about. Of course, they make mistakes and may not make the best choices, but just like every parent out there, they are doing the best they can. While Timothy brings the gift of being a parent to them, he isn’t sharing everything with them. There is only so much time until everything thing will change again for the Green family.
The Odd Life of Timothy Green wouldn’t have been as enjoyable or inspirational if it wasn’t for the wonderful performance of young Adams. He makes Timothy so pure and just like in the movie itself, you completely accept him with no questions asked. For him to be so young, he comes across as a real pro which is a real gift for any actor. Edgerton and Garner are terrific together and you can’t help but feel for them once they find out they can’t have children. No matter how magical or unbelievable the film can get, it’s the struggles of their relationship that keeps the story at a pitch-perfect balance.
The Odd Life of Timothy Green will catch audiences off guard with how well the story is told about a mysterious boy who changed a family forever. Through great performances, the movie takes us on a journey that focuses on tough situations, but remains sensitive and hopeful. You care for these characters and what happens to them. That’s when you know everyone involved has done their job and done it well.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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