A coming-of-age independent feature film set in late 1970s, NEARING GRACE follows high school senior Henry Nearing (Gregory Smith). Nearing has to cope with the death of his mother, and is also forced to come to terms with evolving from a self-absorbed and confused adolescent to accepting the responsibilities of early adulthood. Unfortunately his father, Shep (David Morse), and his older brother, Blair (David Moscow), don’t offer any kind of guidance, and find themselves detaching at the seams. His father quits his teaching job, buys a motorcycle, and becomes a perpetual drunk, while his brother takes off to live as a transient doper. To make things even more complicated, Henry has two young women on his mind: the sexy, wealthy, and very popular Grace (Jordana Brewster) and childhood friend Merna (Ashley Johnson)--one drives him crazy, the other keeps him sane.
Based on the novel of the same name by Scott Somer, NEARING GRACE at times seems to vicariously live through some of the more memorable moments of its coming-of-age predecessors, SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL (1987) and GARDEN STATE (2004). Once the haze of constant pot-smoking clears the characters are relatable and in some instances the scenes are quite heartfelt, although the film isn’t much of a stretch for Smith, who is well-known as teen-angst extraordinaire Ephram Brown in the television drama EVERWOOD. But it’s Smith's co-stars, Brewster (THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS), Johnson (FAST FOOD NATION), and Morse (DOWN IN THE VALLEY, PROOF OF LIFE) that deliver the emotional leverage needed to expose Henry’s pain.
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The Nearing family's loss of its female leader. Rose, wife to Shep (Morse) and mom to Henry and Blair (David Moscow), died six months before. The time is the late '70s, when lifestyles and sexuality were undergoing tremendous change in American society. Rose's death removes the anchor to this suburban New Jersey family, letting each member drift into those swift-moving social currents.
The Nearing family seems to be dealing with the death of their mother by making every bad choice possible. Henry busies himself with the lapses in judgment available to an intelligent high school boy: falling hard for the school vixen, failing to notice the attractions of the girl next door, and allowing his existential ruminations to distract him from any actual schoolwork.
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