SnoopyStyle Easy Kimbrough (Bruce Dern) is the butcher in the rural community who lives with his loser son Beagle (Aaron Stanford). His sickly wife recently died and they're selling her stuff at the swap meet. There they help Marg Kaminski (Elizabeth Ashley) and her granddaughter Georgia (Kristen Stewart). Georgia suffers from Friedreich's Ataxia, a terminal neurological genetic disease. Georgia's mother Violet (Talia Balsam) constantly takes Artistic pictures of Georgia and tries new age treatments. Easy's oldest son Guy (Jayce Bartok) returns home as a failed musician after 3 years in NYC. He's trying to reconnect with his ex Stephanie (Miriam Shor).It's a bunch of damaged likable people struggling to make something of their lives. I like Beagle and Georgia. I like that she's the more aggressive person and the toughest person in the movie. Aaron Stanford does a good job and Kristen Stewart is skinny enough to be a cripple. Although her disability does come and go at times. I don't find the older brother Guy quite as compelling. His story is somewhat unnecessary. I like Mary Stuart Masterson's theatrical directorial debut. It is sensitive and solid. It's a very commendable first effort.

vchimpanzee Easy is a butcher in a small New York town. He just lost his wife, and his son Beagle, who works in the cafeteria at the local high school, took care of his mother toward the end. Beagle's brother Guy, an aspiring rock musician, was in the big city and didn't get the news in time, but he has come back to be with the family.Also in the same town, Violet, who lives with mother Marg, takes tasteful topless photographs of her teenage daughter Georgia, who has a disability that makes her one of Jerry's kids and will likely lead to her death in a few years. The photos are being sold at a local fair, and that's how Beagle meets Georgia.Beagle and Georgia become friends, and she needs a tutor to help her with school. What she doesn't tell her mother and grandmother is that she wants to lose her virginity before it is too late. They also think Beagle is a teacher.Meanwhile, Guy tries, not quite successfully, to reconnect with his former girlfriend Stephanie, and argues with his father over his poor choices in life. And Easy and Marg seem to be attracted to each other.There are lots of good acting performances here. Bruce Dern gives us more than one might expect of his character, partly because of the writing. We don't really know what to expect after a while. There are plenty of surprises.Elizabeth Ashley manages to be be tough but pleasant, trying to raise her family in somewhat difficult circumstances.Kristen Stewart does a very good job. One might think she was really disabled. She is quite likable until she starts acting rebellious, and even then we can't really dislike her. She's very attractive with a minimum of makeup--the movie poster is kind of misleading. It's a shame about her beautiful hair, but in her rebellious phase, what she does actually looks good.Aaron Stanford does a very good job as well. He makes his character quite easy to like and carefully keeps what could be seen as perverted from becoming anything less than beautiful. Those who oppose certain activities outside of marriage might not be pleased, though.And a warning here for vegetarians, or even people like me who refuse to give up meat. A cute cow is shown. Easy and his sons come to visit. You know what Easy does for a living. The truth is hard to take, but we are forced to confront it. Not in a graphic way, but we know what's coming.It's a worthwhile effort.

Claudio Carvalho In a small town in the countryside, Georgia Kaminski (Kristen Stewart) is a fifteen year-old girl with Friedreich's ataxia, a genetic disease that causes progressive damage to the nervous system resulting in clumsy movements, speech problems heading to heart disease. While in a flea market selling goods with her grandmother Marg (Elizabeth Ashley), Georgia meets the shy twenty-years old Beagle Kimbrough (Aaron Stanford), who works in the cafeteria of her school and is the son of the local butcher Easy (Bruce Dern). Beagle spent the last years taking care of his ill mother while Easy and Marg have secretly been lovers for many years. Georgia feels that she will have few years of life and decides to lose her virginity with the sensitive Beagle. Meanwhile, Easy's older son Guy (Jayce Bartok) returns from New York for the funeral of his mother and seeks out the hairdresser Stephanie (Miriam Shor), who was his fiancée that he left behind when he moved to New York chasing the dream of becoming a successful musician. During the reunion, the lives of members of both families experience new discoveries and feelings.The debut of the sweet Mary Stewart Masterson in the direction of a feature is a beautiful and sensitive movie about families' relationship. The three romances are realistic and engaging and the characters are human and credible. The top-notch and impressive performance of Kristen Stewart in the role of a teenager with Friedreich's ataxia deserved a nomination to the Oscar. Kristen Stewart proves that she is not only an extremely gorgeous woman, but mainly a awesome actress. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Doces Encontros" ("Sweet Encounters")

cee1007 The film's title could baffle or be lost on you. Then you realize after watching it that it is one of the smartest titles written for a story. Really. I remember one cheeky poster I saw eons ago, "Life is short, eat dessert first!". And from there you know why this title is so apropos."The Cake Eaters" was made two years ago but was only released in theaters recently. Mary Stuart Masterson, yes that great actress who directed this little film, should thank high heavens for Twilight. Because before Twilight, Kristen Stewart was just that young indie actress recognized only by people who watch little indie films. We all know Twilight at present is still officially undead, which is good news for the leads' older films that were shelved and are now miraculously resurrected. Otherwise there was a very slim chance for this little film to go mass market. Because first, it is a "quiet" character-driven movie (no action sequences typical of blockbusters). Second, the cast is a group of actors and not stars.But they are not really new actors. Which leads us to Bruce Dern, playing the widower Easy, who gave a very solid performance here. Aaron Stanford, playing the naive and reliable Beagle, has been making films since 2002. He reminds me of Michael Cera, by how he portrayed Beagle here. And then we have Kristen Stewart, who plays Georgia, a headstrong 15 year old with a degenerative disease (Friedreich's Ataxia). Kristen inhabited Georgia here. She plays her so convincingly you think she's born with the disease. You can imagine the twitching, slurred speech and uneven gait could take a toll yet she was consistent with it. The best thing is, though she played a girl who is physically weak, her Georgia shows strength and maturity. Kristen has received a lot of flak for underplaying her characters. But consider that here she achieves Georgia's strength with her restrained acting, opting to convey emotions through facial expressions and succinct delivery of lines. Georgia becomes not just a sick 15 year old girl but much more than that. We feel for her, but we do not pity her. Which is what all people with disabilities want anyway.And who would have guessed that Guy, the black sheep brother, is played by the screenplay writer, Jayce Bartok. He writes better, we say, but kudos to him for churning a thoughtful mature story.I am a fan of Masterson's and was so glad to learn she's gone into directing. Her steady hand has allowed this little film to achieve its purpose. The choice of making a film set in a small town reminds you of "Fried Green Tomatoes". This does have a feel of that film. Subtle , unassuming, natural. She worked hand in hand with real life brother Peter as cinematographer, who gave some stunning shots.The OST is also worth mentioning, considering that Duncan Shiek has lent his talent. His relaxed introspective music accompanies this film well.