It was so interesting watching a film about the economic struggle of the depression now because so many moments feel like they are still happening today specifically discussions on evictions and banks. I never knew Jesse Bradford was a child actor. I always knew him as a teen in stuff like HACKERS, ROMEO + JULIET, CLOCKSTOPPERS, BRING IT ON, and SWIMFAN. He really is amazing as he carries this film. I have such a bigger appreciation for him through this. Adrian Brody is so freaking good in the little bit he is given to do. Of course he became an Academy Award winning actor. I never new Soderbergh put him in one of his first films.Other people who were nice to see as young people were Amber Benson as the epileptic neighbor girl who has a crush on Aaron and Spaulding Gray as the older painter. The way the film is shot, I go back and forth on liking and disliking. I like the amber hue the depression era has, but there are weird dutch angels that feels stylized and out of something more like what was going on in the modern films of the early 90s. The second half of the film is where it really shines when Aaron makes a stand by not leaving the room and trying to get his brother back to him. That could have easily been a whole film. The moment where he cuts the pictures out of the magazine breaks your heart.
