“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is a touching, enjoyable fantasy drama film that is best to watch and enjoy, without over-analyzing. And for those who are trying to have a child or even planning to adopt, I definitely recommend watching this Blu-ray release as it is a fantasy family film full of heart, as well as full of hope.
TITLE: The Odd Life of Timothy Green
FILM RELEASE: 2012
DURATION: 105 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (1:88:1)
COMPANY: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
RATED: PG (For Mild Thematic Elements and Brief Language)
Release Date: December 4, 2012
Directed by Peter Hedges
Screenplay by Peter Hedges
Story by Ahmet Zappa
Produced by Scott Sanders, James Whitaker, Ahmet Zappa
Executive Producer: John Cameron, Mara Jacobs
Music by Geoff Zanelli
Cinematography by John Toll
Edited by Andrew Mondshein
Casting by Tiffany Little Canfield, Bernard Telsey
Production Design by Wynn Thomas
Art Direction by James Hegedus
Set Decoration by Brana Rosenfeld
Costume Design by Susie DeSanto
Starring:
Jennifer Garner as Cindy Green
Joel Edgerton as Jim Green
CJ Adams as Timothy Green
Odeya Rush as Joni Jerome
Shohreh Aghdashloo as Evette Onat
Rosemarie DeWitt as Brenda Best
David Morse as James Green, Sr.
M. Emmet Walsh as Uncle Bub
Lois Smith as Aunt Mel
Lin-Manuel Miranda as Reggie
Dianne Wiest as Ms. Bernice Crudstaff
Ron Livingston as Franklin Crudstaff
James Rebhorn as Joseph Crudstaff
Common as Coach Cal
From Academy Award-nominated writer/director Peter Hedges (Dan in Real Life, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape), and starring Golden Globe® winner Jennifer Garner, Joel Edgerton, Oscar® winner Dianne Wiest and CJ Adams as Timothy Green, comes this highly imaginative story about a happily married couple who can’t wait to start a family but can only dream about what their child would be like. Then one stormy night young Timothy shows up on their doorstep. Soon they and the small town in which they live learn that sometimes the unexpected can bring some of life’s greatest gifts. The story is written by Ahmet Zappa (“American Gangster,†“Changelingâ€).
Beautiful, touching and a film that will no doubt, make you shed a few tears… “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is a family film worth watching!
From writer/director Peter Hedges (“Who’s Eating Gilbert Grape”, “Pieces of April”, “Dan in Real Life”) and writer/actor Ahmet Zappa (“Pump Up the Volume”, “Jack Frost”) comes the fantasy drama film “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” which stars Jennifer Garner (“Alias”, “Daredevil”, “13 Going on 30”), Joel Edgerton (“The Thing”, “King Arthur”, “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) and CJ Adams (“Dan in Real Life”).
The film was released in theaters in August 2012 and earned over $50 million in the box office.
The film is set in a small struggling industrial town of Stanleyville, North Carolina and revolves around Cindy (portrayed by Jennifer Garner) and her husband Jim Green (portrayed by Joel Edgerton), a couple who are unable to have a child. The two must persuade the adoption agency of why they are fit to adopt a child. During the interview process, the couple didn’t write so much about why they had a child and when asked what experience they have with a child, the couple write “Timothy”.
Both Jim and Cindy explain that to understand why they should adopt, they couldn’t write it in words, they need to explain it.
And so, the film begins with a story by Jim and Cindy Green of a boy named Timothy (portrayed by CJ Adams) who came to their life one evening.
On the day, the two find out that they are unable to conceive a child, the distraught parents decide to write about their ideal child and what characteristics and qualities that their child would have on notes of paper.
The two put the notes in a box and bury it in their back yard garden. But during a thunderstorm, the two hear a noise and when they go to check, they discover a boy at their home. And to make things more interesting is that the boy’s legs have green leaves growing out of them. As the Green’s go to check where they buried the box, they find out that the box has been smashed to pieces and now lies a big hole where they buried it. The two then realize that this boy, Timothy, is a culmination of their wishes.
The following morning, the Green family are hosting a family picnic at their home and Timothy gets to meet everyone including Cindy’s sister Brenda (portrayed by Rosemarie DeWitt), Jim’s estranged father James Green, Sr. (portrayed by David Morse), Cindy’s guardians, her aunt Mel (portrayed by Lois Smith) and her uncle Bub (portrayed by M. Emmet Walsh). And as Timothy gets used to the family, whenever he has a big wish, he sticks his hands out on his side and looks up to the sky.
Of course, others think that Timothy is a bit weird but for Cindy and Jim, they want to protect their son from any embarrassment.
As Cindy goes to her botanist friend Reggie (portrayed by Lin-Manuel Miranda) to clip off the leaves, immediately Reggie’s cutting tool breaks and Timothy explains that the leaves can not be cut.
So, as Cindy and James take in Timothy like a child of their own, they learn about parenting, especially the worries of their child being social, being bullied, getting him involved in sports and extra-curricular activities. But as Timothy fulfills the qualities that Jim and Cindy wrote on the paper notes (that they originally had buried in the back yard), a leaf from his leg will disappear.
Not wanting to alarm his parents, the truth is that Timothy’s existence in the world is short and each time he fulfills the qualities that his parents wrote, after all leaves have fallen, he will disappear.
But with his short existence, how will Timothy touch the lives of the people most important to him?
VIDEO:
“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is presented in 1080p High Definition and presented in (1:85:1). The film features warm colors and for the most part, skintones look warm, blacks are deep. I didn’t notice any banding, artifacts or any problems during my viewing of the film. For the most part, picture quality is very good.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
As for the audio, “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English 2.0 DVS. The film is pretty much dialogue-driven, with the exception of a storm scene where you will hear some surround activity and LFE. But this is a film where dialogue is primary and sounds crystal clear on Blu-ray. The musical score is also beautiful, composed by Geoff Zanelli (“Antz”, “Pirates of the Caribbean” films”, “Disturbia”), the music comes to life through this lossless soundtrack.
Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” comes with the following special features:
- This is Family – (10:12) Featuring the cast and crew discussing “The Odd Life of Timothy Green”.
- The Gift of Music – (9:15) A behind-the-scenes look at the musical score of the song “This Gift”.
- “This Gift” Music Video performed by Glen Hansard – (4:43)
- Audio Commentary – Featuring audio commentary by writer/director Peter Hedges.
- Deleted Scenes – (5:57) Featuring five deleted scenes with optional audio commentary by Peter Hedges.
EXTRAS:
“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” comes with both the Blu-ray and DVD version of the film. A slipcover case is included.
“The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is one of those films where you just want to get lost in the fantasy world and just believe that special things can happen to a family.
A film where you just don’t want to over-analyze and just take things as they are. No asking questions of how a boy can materialize from a box of notes planted in the back yard or how a child has leaves growing out of his legs, don’t think too deeply about the fantasy elements. Just enjoy this film for how a young boy is able to help a distraught couple, who are unable to have children but manage to have this one boy, Timothy, come into their lives and not only change their life but also touch the lives of others.
I was touched by this film because as a father, I know how it was for me and my wife to try and have a child. To think of how people around us had no problems but yet, each time we tried, things were not meant to be. And just the emotions we had at the time, I can sympathize of the pain that both characters, Cindy and Jim are feeling.
Both Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton did a fantastic job of playing the couple who suddenly have a new boy and experiencing all these new emotions of being parents. Being a parent is an enjoyable but it can also be a frustrating experience (and many other emotions that one can easily feel), but for those wanting children, especially earlier on, you just have to adjust. And it’s interesting to see both characters grow in this short time with Timothy.
Child actor CJ Adams also did a fine job of playing Timothy Green. A character that is also trying to adjust to his new surrounding but also knows that his time is short. And when you start seeing Timothy lose his leaves, you know that this happiness is going to be shortlived (so be prepared to shed some tears).
But “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is also about hope. Timothy touches the life of people in different ways and we get to see how he touches those lives throughout the film.
As for the Blu-ray release, picture and audio quality are very good. Warm colors and dialogue is crystal clear. There are several special features included and because this is a family film, it will be released with both the Blu-ray and DVD versions of the film.
Overall, “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” is a touching, enjoyable fantasy drama film that is best to watch and enjoy, without over-analyzing. And for those who are trying to have a child or even planning to adopt, I definitely recommend watching this Blu-ray release as it is a fantasy family film full of heart, as well as full of hope.
