Arizona Examiner
Monday, May 16, 2011 at 11:57PM Movie Review: Fly Away
Writer/director Janet Grillo's “Fly Away” is intensely heartbreaking and profoundly uplifting. It is a movie that, while not always easy to watch, rewards the viewer with a sense of hopeful-yet-realistic optimism.
Moreover, the entire cast excels. Beth Broderick perfectly demonstrates the exhaustion associated with a love as desperate as her character's while Ashley Rickards skillfully facilitates a remarkable transformation and the extraordinarily talented Greg Germann adds just the right amount of sweet humor to the mix.
In the drama, based on the award-winning short “Flying Lessons,” Broderick plays Jeanne, the single mother of a teenage daughter with Autism, Mandy (Rickards). Jeanne adores Mandy but, as the young girl matures, her disability becomes harder to manage – especially for a woman who is struggling to just make ends meat.
To make the heart of the trouble even more apparent, Jeanne finds herself being wooed by a kind stranger named Tom (Germann). Tom is wonderful around Mandy but Jeanne fails to see why such a great man would have any interest whatsoever in a single mother to a teenage daughter with Autism.
Therefore, feeling strain on the relationship, Jeanne cuts Tom out of her life. But her personal problems continue to intensify as she makes even more sacrifices at the cost of her own well-being, eventually encouraging Jeanne to confront the most difficult decision a parent can make – to let go, allowing her child to grow, or to hold on tight and fall together.
In her director's statement, Grillo, a mother of a child with disabilities herself, explains that “Fly Away” is a personal film, derived from experience. She adds, “If 'Fly Away' eases the pain of even one parent's torturous decision, or if it expands the heart of even one person untouched by Autism to accept our children and appreciate our struggles, it will have been well worth making.”
Grillo undoubtedly accomplishes her goal as “Fly Away” feels every bit as personal as she must have hoped and it certainly touched this critic's heart and soul. Unlike most motion pictures with spotlights on similar subjects, this one never patronizes the viewer, allowing us to feel true emotion on our own accord without using any manipulation whatsoever.
Accentuating Grillo's great direction and strong screenplay are a trio of terrific talents in Broderick, Rickards and Germann. Each of the actors bring something different to “Fly Away,” be it Broderick's authentic agony, Rickards' convincing condition or Germann's captivating charm and the movie is an absolute triumph.
“Fly Away” (NR – 80 minutes) is now available via video-on-demand and on DVD at retail stores and rental outlets throughout the Valley.