You Can Count on Me

Rating

Director

Kenneth Lonergan

Screenplay

Kenneth Lonergan

Length

1h 51m

Starring

Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, Matthew Broderick, Jon Tenney, Rory Culkin, J. Smith-Cameron, Josh Lucas, Gaby Hoffman, Adam LeFevre, Amy Ryan, Michael Countryman, Kenneth Lonergan

MPAA Rating

R

Review

There are few filmmakers who can carefully craft an intriguing family character drama. You Can Count on Me proves that Kenneth Lonergan is one of them.

With two stellar central performances, Lonergan explores parenthood, fidelity, and dissatisfaction in a compelling, though lengthy narrative. Laura Linney plays Sammy, a loan officer at a local bank whose new boss (Matthew Broderick) begins as a colossal prick insisting that she can no longer pick her son up by dodging out of work for 15 minutes. Mark Ruffalo plays her brother Terry who has spent time traveling the country but has run out of money and has decided to surprise his sister with a visit to ask for money to take care of himself and the woman who he’s impregnated. Unable to display actual affection, Terry ends up staying a time with Sammy and looking after her sheltered son Rudy (Rory Culkin). Sammy begins having an affair with a married man while the romantic relationship she has with Bob (Jon Tenney) begins to deteriorate.

The parents’ death leads two children to develop poorly into adults. Terry doesn’t know how to take responsibility for himself, acting frequently like a spoiled child while Sammy has taken an authoritarian and hypocritical demeanor to those around her. While Terry has refused to grow up, Sammy has grown up too much and by re-entering each others’ lives, they begin the process of sharing and replacing what made the other fractured.

Although we’ve come to know Linney for playing just this type of harried, regimented character, You Can Count on Me is the film that solidified that style of performance. Sammy had to grow up too quickly as the elder sibling, forced to believe that in order to succeed she must rule with an iron fist, a steely disposition with straight forward and clear instructions, ordering her life so perfectly that there’s no room for flexibility. Linney gives Sammy the strict bearing of a domineering parent who tries not to let her son fail in life but doesn’t allow him to thrive either.

Her polar opposite, Ruffalo had similarly become typecast as the carefree, unbothered brother who had the capabilities of his sister shielding him from the consequences of his actions yet still managing to find a way to mess up his own life. Ruffalo has an easygoing style that makes his characters feel effortless despite their depth and lived personalities. He has done a better job overcoming the stereotype in subsequent years but this showcased him at his best in that conceit.

With able supporting performances from Matthew Broderick, Jon Tenney, and Rory Culkin, Lonergan’s vital but occasionally tedious drama works incredibly well. You Can Count on Me doesn’t explore new family dynamics, nor does it rely on staid generalities to convey its themes. It’s a simple in form, complex in theme character study worth checking out.

Review Written

June 9, 2026