San Antonio Film Festival Review: The Story of Luke (2012)

June 26, 2013 Film Festival, Reviews, San Antonio Film Festival No Comments

storyofluke

Cast: , , 
Director: Alonso Mayo
Country: USA
Genre: Comedy | Drama
Official Trailer: Here

Editor’s Notes: The following review is part of our coverage of the San Antonio Film Festival. For more information on the festival visit http://safilm.com/ and follow the San Antonio Film Festival on Twitter at @safilm.

It’s hard to make a movie involving a protagonist with autism, and writer/director Alonso Mayo knows it. His feature debut, The Story of Luke, doesn’t exploit its protagonist’s autism. Instead, it tells a traditional coming-of-age tale that could easily apply to anyone. It just so happens that this story involves a man with autism.

Raised by his grandparents after his mother abandoned him at a young age, Luke hasn’t let his autism slow him down. He can’t multiply huge numbers or memorize entire books, but he can cook a number of recipes from his favorite cooking show. Following his grandmother’s death, Luke and his grandfather move in with his uncle’s family. Eager to prove he is a man, Luke decides to find a job so he can eventually live on his own.

Even though he’s not a very interesting protagonist, Luke is easily the most likable character in this story. Stories like this require people to root against the protagonist, but the extent to which Alonso Mayo goes to pit his characters against Luke is incredibly disconcerting.

Lou Taylor Pucci is a fine actor, but even he can’t bring much depth to Luke. He delivers his lines with wide-eyes and a maternal tone reminiscent of the grandmother that raises him. What else is he supposed to do with a script that has him comment on the size of a woman’s breasts and degrade his aunt’s cooking?

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Even though he’s not a very interesting protagonist, Luke is easily the most likable character in this story. Stories like this require people to root against the protagonist, but the extent to which Alonso Mayo goes to pit his characters against Luke is incredibly disconcerting. Luke’s grandfather is your typical grump, a distant cousin of Alan Arkin’s character from Little Miss Sunshine. Mayo thinks there is humor in having this elderly potty mouth tell Luke that he considered drowning him at a young age. Instead of laughing, I hoped someone would be calling social services soon. None of Luke’s family members are any better. One of his cousins gets Luke drunk and his uncle spills his bedroom troubles freely. Again, all these moments are played for humor.

Luke’s relationship with his Aunt Cindy (Kristin Bauer) is somewhat of an exception to the film’s repellent mean-spirited characters. Initially eager to get Luke out of their house, she eventually warms up to him – albeit inexplicably. The moments between the two characters are heartwarming enough, but they could have been dealt with better. Mayo never seems able to develop any of the relationships into anything resembling any sort of depth.

There are some nice moments sprinkled throughout the movie involving Luke and his relationship with his aunt, but the movie never really soars as much as it should. There’s never any true conflict in the movie and there’s an unsettling mean-spiritedness to the story.

There are some nice moments sprinkled throughout the movie involving Luke and his relationship with his aunt, but the movie never really soars as much as it should. There’s never any true conflict in the movie and there’s an unsettling mean-spiritedness to the story. The Story of Luke isn’t really a bad movie, but it’s ultimately undone by its mean-spiritedness and shallow characters. The movie finally begins to gain some traction in its final act, but by the time we become invested, it’s already over.

 

30/100 ~ AWFUL. The Story of Luke isn’t really a bad movie, but it’s ultimately undone by its mean-spiritedness and shallow characters. The movie finally begins to gain some traction in its final act, but by the time we become invested, it’s already over.

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Daniel Tucker

Director of Media & Staff Film Critic: I never knew how movies could make your imagination soar until I saw "Star Wars," I never realized how inspiring they could be until I saw "Rocky," and I never truly appreciated film until I saw "Goodfellas." Film has been a central part of my life as long as I can remember and it continues to mold who I am. My " movies to watch" list is miles longer than my "movies I have watched" list. My only regret is not having enough time to watch them all.