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| Thomas Haden Church, left, is funny and heartfelt as Klug's "documentarian" (IFC) |
Megan Griffiths’ under-the-radar indie about music journalist Ellie Klug (Toni Collette) tasked to track down her once-legendary Rock God of an ex-boyfriend is one of 2014’s brightest surprises. The film is small and proceeds in mostly expected, unremarkable fashion – odd-couple pairing, occasional lapses in attention to detail, intermittent breaks for drinks and personal story-sharing – and yet it finds its footing by the end. Griffiths superbly conveys the vibe of the Seattle music scene, mining an especially strong sense of place as she surveys bustling nighttime streets, warmly lit and brightly imagined. As Lucky Them comes into its own, it reveals itself as a tender meditation on human connection – the beauty of attaining it and the pain of losing it – with a gritty, powerhouse turn from Ms. Collette at its fragile center. B+