LIFE LESSONS (THE TENDER BAR)

George Clooney's 'The Tender Bar' is the kind of coming of age film that Hollywood studios used to make.

Writers and directors these days rely on indie companies to get coming of age stories into production.

They also depend on streaming giants to distribute them.

Seasoned filmgoers watching 'The Tender Bar' will inevitably feel they've been down its path many times before.

Nevertheless, there's something to be said for movies that execute their coming of age tales well.

'The Tender Bar' is one such film.

Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning journalist JR Moehringer's 2005 memoir, the story has been adapted for the screen by the Oscar winning writer of 'The Departed,' William Monahan.

It begins with Lily Rabe's Dorothy Maguire and her son, Daniel Ranieri's JR arriving at her family home in Long Island.

Dorothy is still recovering from her disastrous relationship with JR's feckless, heavy drinking, womanising DJ father, Max Martini's "The Voice".

The thought of having to return to the family home, where Christopher Lloyd's grouchy patriarch Grandpa Maguire moans about having to provide a home for his adult daughters and son, reduces her to tears.

JR, though, enjoys the hustle and bustle of the house which is packed with cousins and aunts.

He also develops a special bond with his uncle, Ben Affleck's Charlie who runs a bar by the name of The Dickens.

Charlie becomes something of a surrogate father to JR.

Priding himself in his ability to tell it as it is, Charlie urges JR at an early age to give up sports as it is not his forte and to focus on what he loves.

When JR says he wants to be a writer, he challenges the boy to read his vast collection of books.

Dorothy harbours ambitions for JR too, hoping he will study in Yale and become a lawyer.

Hanging out in The Dickens, JR soaks up all of Charlie's advice on life, love and on becoming a great writer.

The Dickens' regulars, Max Casella's Chief, Michael Braun's Bobo, and Matthew Delamater's Joey D all revel in JR's achievements as he grows from a boy to a man.

And as the older JR, we see Tye Sheridan's version of Moehringet landing a place in Yale to study literature, falling in lust with Briana Middleton's Sidney and vying for a job in the New York Times.

There are ups. There are downs.

He befriends an Irish priest, played by Billy Meleady, who he often runs into on the rail journey to Yale.

But as he develops, will JR find love and fulfil his dream of becoming a writer?

It would be easy to dismiss 'The Tender Bar' as safe, clichéd and unoriginal, as some critics have.

Those criticisms might have validity if the film were fictional and not based closely on Moehringer's memoir.

Clooney and Monahan's movie, however, is well made, enthusiastic, pacy and beautifully acted.

A lot hangs on the shoulders of Affleck, Sheridan, Ranieri and Rave and they all deliver in spades.

Affleck delivers unquestionably his greatest performance as an actor since 'Good Will Hunting' - yes, better than 'Argo' and 'The Town'.

As Charlie, he is warm, amusing and paternal - the kind of uncle everyone would want, especially in the absence of a father.

Sheridan, who is probably best known for his work on Steven Spielberg's 'Ready Player One,' is an engaging lead, while Ranieri melts hearts as his younger self.

Rabe is at her most committed as JR's devoted mum.

After his amusing turn as a gun toting grandad in 'Nobody,' Lloyd continues to delight as a grouchy old man with a soft centre.

Middleton is striking as the young woman of JR's dreams who doesn't quite live up to them.

Rhenzy Feliz is good value as JR's friend at Yale, Wesley.

Martini convinces as JR's often absent father who always falls short when he does appear and reveals major flaws.

Meleady brings warmth to his role as an avuncular priest, while Casella, Braun and Delameter are enjoyable as The Dickens' customers.

Lovingly shot by German cinematographer Martin Ruhe, 'The Tender Bar' is not flamboyantly directed by Clooney.

It's all rather understated, with Clooney content to let his cast do their thing with Monahan's script and do it very well.

However he is disciplined enough to ensure the film rolls along without any showboating from its cast.

Viewers will be struck by the film's mostly gentle approach to the ups and downs of JR's life.

In an age where our multiplexes are dominated by bombastic superhero tales and lame comedies, 'The Tender Bar' will leave you hankering for a time where Hollywood studios would roll out prestige dramas about imperfect families.

If Amazon Prime, Netflix and HBO Max have achieved anything, it is to provide platforms for those type of films.

Long may they continue.

('The Tender Bar' received a limited cinema release in the UK on December 17, 2021 and was made available for streaming on Amazon Prime on January 7, 2022)

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