Goats by Director Christopher Neil

EYES IN Magazine Editor-in-Chief attended the premiere of Goats at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT and had the following review. Also enjoy the video of the Goats cast press conference at Sundance.

"Director Christopher Neil took an unusual story that at the same time can also be very realistic into the level of an interesting film. It is never an easy task to make a film based on a book, but Christopher Neil managed to do an excellent job. With a strong cast existing of Graham Phillips, David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Ty Burrell, Justin Kirk and Keri Russell, the extraordinary upbringing of a 15-year-old boy comes to life on the screen. Based on the novel by Mark Jude Poirier this film touches psychological levels of love, strength and morality."

"Brilliant actor David Duchovny as Goat Man is an invention in itself. You don't choose your family, your family chooses you. This is the destiny of Ellis Whitman and he seems to balance it all out and realizes that love is never perfect, but it is always there. This film will change your perspective about if there is a perfect love of a family towards a child, but moreover the film will always stay with you. It is a serious masterpiece and on top of that it was very funny."

-Vivian van Dijk, EYES IN Magazine Editor-in-Chief

Synopsis

Goats, (based on Mark Jude Poirier’s critically acclaimed debut novel), follows 15-year old Ellis (Phillips), a grounded, intelligent young man, as he is getting ready to leave his luxurious but eclectic home in the foothills of Tucson for his freshman year at Gates Academy, an East Coast prep school, and his estranged father's alma mater.

This means leaving behind Wendy, his flakey, new age mother and the only real father figure he has ever had, Goat Man. Hilarious and poignant; Goats is a witty reversal of the coming of age formula, a beautifully honest portrayal of life with its rough edges, awkward moments and non-endings.

[Images credit: Gregory E. Peters]