Alexandre Rockwell’s semi-improvised film, which stars his wife and children, is imperfectly plotted but brilliantly acted
Here is a drama about kids trying to escape abusive environments, shot mostly in black and white, written and directed by Alexandre Rockwell, who was once going to be the next big thing after early hit In the Soup and contributing a quarter to portmanteau work Four Rooms. But he struggled to get his subsequent films airborne: none were big, or even medium-sized, hits. Tiny and intimate, Sweet Thing isn’t likely to do boffo box-office either, but 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.
Related: Sweet Thing director Alexandre Rockwell: ‘Weinstein was eating hot dogs like sushi, while a student rubbed
Oil on his lemon-sized boils’