The Sum of Us

There are certain films that as soon as I heard about them I knew I had to seek them out and The Sum of Us was certainly one of them. Not only was it an early performance by Russell Crowe, but one in which he played a gay character. This I knew I needed to see. What I found was a thoroughly charming, if at times unconventional, film. 

Harry Mitchell (played by Jack Thompson) is a widower living in Sydney, Australia with his grown son Jeff (played by Russell Crowe). They both work hard and have settled into a simple level of domesticity. But Harry hopes for more for Jeff, that he would find a nice bloke to settle down with and try to make a life for himself. He can be a bit overbearing in trying to make the guys Jeff brings home feel welcome, practically scaring off the latest one, Greg (played by John Polson). Jeff struggles with some insecurity issues and is striving to build a simple but successful life for himself. He works as a plumber and plays Rugby in his free time. He appreciates that his father cares so much and is so open minded, but also wishes he'd back off a little. Harry then decides to try and get out there himself and signs up for a dating service. Through that he meets Joyce (played by Deborah Kennedy) and the two hit it off right away. They go one a few more dates and things begin to get serious between the two. However, complications arise when Joyce finds out about Jeff's sexual orientation, doesn't approve of it nor Harry's nonchalant attitude towards it and feels like Harry deliberately kept it from her.

The film does a good job as a portrait of a father and son who have a close bond and accept one another and love one another unconditionally. They both want the other to be happy even if they don't always show it in the best way, but you can tell they mean well. Both Jack Thompson and Russell Crowe do well in their roles, even handling the film's semi-frequent moments where the characters break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience work reasonably well. It really is their story and they carry the film well. 

The film was written by David Stevens and was based on his play of the same name. He and directors Geoff Burton and Kevin Dowling do a good job of opening up the film and making sure it doesn't feel too "stagey". There is a rather cruel plot twist in the third act of the film that I won't spoil here but the film's tone does shift dramatically, but they manage to make it work within the film and makes a fairly seamless transition from light comedy to a more dramatic tone. It can be jarring for some viewers who aren't expecting it, but then again real life can be that way too so I figure it's fair.   

Overall, The Sum of Us is a funny and heartwarming film focusing on the close bond between father and son as they try to navigate their lives, anchored by two strong performances from Jack Thompson and Russell Crowe (who right after this made his American film debut in the Sam Raimi western The Quick and the Dead). I've always enjoyed it myself, perhaps because it at times reminded me of a point in my life when it was just me and my Dad living by ourselves (although we were never quite as open with one another as Jeff and Harry are).