Loosely based on a true story, Lou Taylor Pucci is Gabriel, a rebellious 1960s teen who ran away from home after a fight with his parents. He turns up 20 years later suffering from a brain tumor and the inability to form new memories and losing his short-term memory. Basically what the guy in Memento had. JK Simmons is Henry, Gabriel's stern father, struggling to make sense of the new reality of his relationship with his son. He is distant at first, angry at his son for disappearing and unable to relate to this new person occupying his son's body. When Gabriel's mother falls ill, Henry takes up the routine of daily visits. Through some pioneering research, it is discovered that music from Gabriel's teen years reactivates his memory and he becomes relatively normal. Henry forces himself to listen to Gabriel's music, all that noise he hated before, and develops a greater understanding of his son, his feelings, and the struggles he went through. Throughout the movie, we are given flashbacks to Gabriel's childhood to help fill out the story. This is a good movie with solid performances from Pucci (who played another character with mental difficulties in The Story of Luke and Simmons. It doesn't really break any new ground but it's well-done. You'll notice some similarities to Awakenings, no doubt because it's based on a case from the same author/doctor (Oliver Sacks). Anyway, this one is right at the Tabedoza Line™ - 7/10.
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