This World Won't Break

A heartfelt film in the vein of "Tender Mercies," centered around an aging musician, whose life is giving up on him while he refuses to let go of his calling. He finds himself facing the question, "why bother?" as he realizes he has sacrificed his most vital years and relationships to attempt to make his unrealized dreams happen. The pacing allows for the setting and the mood to breathe, and the cinematography showcases the Texas backdrop beautifully. The direction and acting allow the sparse humorous moments to be all that more impactful, as well as the more dramatic moments. A bar fight in any other movie would be commonplace. When one of the few moments of violence in this film happens, it hits like a freight train... not because of the scale, but because of the audience's empathy for the lead character by that point. The score is also noteworthy, perfectly complementing the reflective nature of the film and its characters. All in all, a well-crafted tale that hopefully foreshadows great things to come from Mr. Jordan.