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A brilliant film that helped define a genre

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

THIS IS MARTIN BONNER focuses on the lives of two misfits trying to adjust to a new life in the desert city of Reno, Navada. Australian émigré Martin (Paul Eenhoorn) tries to adjust to life as a volunteer in a local jail after having experienced a crisis of faith followed by long-term unemployment. Travis Holloway (Richmond Arquette) is released from the same jail, and attempts to forge a new life outside by living in a seedy motel and working as a car park attendant. Both men have grown-up children: Martin communicates mostly by phone, while Travis' daughter Diana (Sam Buchanan) hasn't seen her father since he went to prison twelve years previously. When father and daughter do meet, the conversation remains awkward, to say the least. Chad Hartigan's low-budget drama focuses on the loneliness of the two protagonists' lives as they spend their evenings in nondescript rooms, roam the streets either on foot, in the car or on the bus, and try to connect with people around them. Reno is hardly the place for lonely men to live; the streets are deprived of pedestrians, while cars endlessly shoot by on the interstate highway. The skies are crystal-clear, but the architecture seems to be deliberately designed to shut out as much daylight as possible. Sean McElwee's cinematography sums up the protagonists' lives through a clever use of framing; on several occasions their profiles are seen at the extreme left or right of the frame looking desolately at the landscape stretching endlessly before them. Even when they try to communicate, they are verbally challenged: what is not said is more significant than what is said. The narrative of THIS IS MARTIN BONNER unfolds at a slow pace, but the film remains a penetrating study of life in an impersonal city.

This fine little flick is a quick drive-by look at or into a brief moment in another persons life.We never get a full background on any of the characters because the story just starts and then ends. What happens in between is one man, Bonner, driven to help others and never fully knowing if his efforts have actually helped.And another man,Travis, needing help and not fully knowing if he is capable of meeting its' challenges. He needs help due to his past! His daughter has a brief visit which only accentuates Travis's insecurity.I'm only giving seven stars because I don't feel enough character was given to Bonner to have just that name in the title. Travis actually plays the major role.

I decided to write this review in order to counterbalance the negative one posted by Farron34. I liked this movie very much, because it showed real people and their simple lives. Because for Travis just out of prison, even a squalid motel room is a gift, and you perceive it without one word said in that regard. The way he walks out in the chilly air with a hot cup of coffee to look at the "outside" with a fantastic 360° pan around him showing real America: freeway, cars, asphalt, anonymous buildings, bright advertisement - nothing exceptional but the beautiful sunset light of the Nevada desert. I liked the way it criticizes the Church of Christians, of the zealots, of those who live off the church and its charity but the observation is done gently and respectfully. There is more but you have to see it for yourself, the joy is in the details. If you want spectacle and glitz this movie is not for you but if you want to observe a few human beings dealing with their banal, only life, filled with the little things that make it worth living, well, this is an excellent movie.

I'm not sure what to make of this film, it came across as very disjointed. The characters seemed very shallow and not really at all interesting or engaging. There were several scenes that seemed out of place or completely needless. Many scenes also seemed far too long and awkward. Honestly, it's a miracle I made it through the whole film and didn't turn it off. I kept hoping it would get better. Not so much. I am amazed this film is rated as high as it is. Cinematically, that camera work was nothing special. However, there were a few scenes where the camera work was distracting and also a few awkward slow-motion moments. The acting seemed very rigid, and not natural at all. It also seemed a bit preachy in spots, it appears that regurgitation of an agenda was more important than a dynamic story.