The coming-of-age drama We the Animals is decidedly NOT a feel good movie. It’s about a working class Puerto Rican family in rural up-state New York. The mom has a factory job, and the dad works night security. The couple sleeps on the couch so the boys get the only bedroom. The youngest boy sneaks under the bed at night and draws; in We the Animals’ most inventive aspect, his drawings are animated throughout the film.
The dad hits the mom and leaves. The mom is disabled by depression. Without adult guidance, the boys become feral. As we watch them roam wild, we worry about their immediate safety and welfare; and we worry about what they’ll become.
We the Animals has its moments, including two very compelling scenes, the first when the dad is prone on the floor and the boys let their feelings about him explode. The second involves the youngest son’s drawings. And the most poignant scene is when the mom asks her youngest to stay his current age.
Raúl Castillo and Sheila Vand play the parents, and both deliver excellent performances. The non-actor kids are remarkable, too.
This film has won festival awards and received very good reviews. But, only 93 minutes long, We the Animals feels longer. Ironically, the movie’s success in making you care and worry about the kids also makes it a grind for the audience.
When I’m writing about what’s up on the screen, I usually consider it bad form to compare it to another movie. But I realized why We the Animals just didn’t work for me – it is clearly inferior to Sean Baker’s The Florida Project, which is an oft-thrilling movie from just last year, also centered on free-ranging poor kids. So there.