New York Times Review: A Difficult Family Relationship

By Jeannette Catoulis

Posted: April 15, 2011

Treading warily into territory that few dramas dare to explore, “Fly Away” is a defiantly unsentimental look at the complex codependency between a harried single mother and her severely autistic daughter.

For Jeanne (Beth Broderick, excellent), each day is a bone-wearying struggle. Soothing her 15-year-old daughter, Mandy (Ashley Rickards), through screaming night terrors and daytime tantrums, Jeanne is slowly losing the ability to function as a freelance business consultant. Work deadlines, adult relationships, uninterrupted sleep — all are sacrificed to the love and care she showers on her daughter. Jeanne’s former husband (J. R. Bourne) is on his last nerve and, along with Mandy’s tough-loving school principal (Reno), urges Jeanne to consider an institutional alternative.

At this point “Fly Away” faces some harsh realities with commendable subtlety. Without overplaying her hand or taking cheap emotional shots, the writer and director, Janet Grillo , examines the assumption that home is always the best environment. As Mandy matures and her aggressive behavior — as well as a growing interest in the opposite sex — becomes more difficult to manage, the film is attentive to the emotional damage sustained by parents who refuse to accept that love may not be enough.

Taking a coolheaded approach to hot-button issues, “Fly Away” overcomes its neatly bow-tied ending with strong performances (including Greg Germann as a sensitive neighbor) and a spare, intelligent script. Ms. Grillo has no need of wordiness: Jeanne’s bruised body and exhausted face say it all.

http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/04/15/movies/fly-away-movie-review.html?ref=movies