Sweet Thing

Released Jun 18, 2021

1h 31m

Drama

List

90%

29 Reviews

Tomatometer

50%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

The story revolves around the two siblings and their struggle to find solid ground in the homes of Adam, their alcoholic father, and Eve, their negligent mother. The children ultimately run away and find a temporary life for themselves around the town of New Bedford, MA. What begins as a disturbing family drama becomes a rousing childhood adventure that, though tragic, is a deeply moving and hopeful testament to the poetry of adventure and the imagination of childhood.

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Critics Consensus

Often heartbreaking yet ultimately uplifting, Sweet Thing captures the wonder and horror of childhood with a deft and tender hand.

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Ike E

Albeit the almost wooden performance by the three children, they kind of work, since they are portraying pre-teen kids - a blank slate reactive to the heartbreaking, often harsh conditions of urban America. The frivolous yet calming Van Morrison song acts as the precursor of the film, innocence in childish mirth.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/09/23

Full Review

isla s

I was going to give this film a lower rate, only it did pick up after about an hour. It's quite depressing for the first hour. Filmed in black and white, a warts all depiction of youngish kids living in a dysfunctional, neglectful domestic setting. I'd wrongly assumed the kids would somehow run away earlier in the film than they do (apologies for a potential spoiler there). It became somewhat poignant and even hopeful towards the end. It has the feel of 'The Florida Project' I suppose. A sobering watch, with some nice pieces of music used at key moments, this is ok, possibly worth a watch, yeah.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A super-independent film made from the heart. This is really what can be done on a shoe string budget. Shot in black and white, the story follows a group of kids as they make their way in a poor part of town. Their home life is consists of a drunk father and abusive step-father. Their adventures take them on some tragic and dangerous sojourns. The film doesn't aim to be more than it is, and that is refreshing. The young performances are good and endearing. Will Patton as the alcoholic father is heartbreaking. There isn't new territory here but its heart is in the right place.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Wait until you see Karyn Parsons' performance.,. She was unrecognizable as a negligent mother! Beautiful film! And it is streaming online at https://watch.laemmle.com/videos/sweetthing21491/60a6bfcad61b2c000131c097/

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

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Alexandre Rockwell

Director

Lana Rockwell

Billie

Nico Rockwell

Nico

Jabari Watkins

Malik

M.L. Josepher

Beaux

Karyn Parsons

Eve

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87%

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Leslie Felperin

Guardian

This small, delicate, late-blooming film is quite lovely, and a throwback to the 1990s/2000s craze for semi-improvised, rough and ready indie film-making.

Rated: 4/5

Sep 7, 2021

Full Review

Peter Rainer

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

The connection between the two children was really strong, moving, and rang true.

Jun 22, 2021

Full Review

Travis Hopson

RogerEbert.com

A soulful, uplifting, but also heartbreaking look at race and poverty's impact on troubled childhood.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 18, 2021

Full Review

Ben Flanagan

Vague Visages

Sweet Thing is creatively shot and bursting with energy, but Rockwell’s biggest ambition is seemingly to replicate a bunch of ideas from other films, to put visuals to his favorite songs and to showcase his talented family.

Sep 23, 2023

Full Review

Kevin Wight

The Wee Review

It's rare for a film dealing with such subjects to fall on the side of optimism, naively misty-eyed or not.

Rated: 3

Nov 17, 2021

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

Never amounts to much that's sweet, or magical or tragic or sad.

Rated: 2/4

Oct 5, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

The story revolves around the two siblings and their struggle to find solid ground in the homes of Adam, their alcoholic father, and Eve, their negligent mother. The children ultimately run away and find a temporary life for themselves around the town of New Bedford, MA. What begins as a disturbing family drama becomes a rousing childhood adventure that, though tragic, is a deeply moving and hopeful testament to the poetry of adventure and the imagination of childhood.

Director: Alexandre Rockwell
Producer: Michael R. Ragan, Sam Rockwell, Ian Stirling, Elaine Walsh, Jennifer Beals, Hedy Groth Putegnat, Will Patton
Screenwriter: Alexandre Rockwell
Distributor: Film Movement
Production Co: Black Horse Productions, Twisted Holdings
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 18, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 24, 2021
Runtime: 1h 31m

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