Owen Gleiberman Chief Film CriticEvery so often, watching an overly tidy, ultimately sentimental indie drama that pretends to be “real” but isn’t, I’ll peer through the movie and catch a glimpse of the better, more honest, less diagrammed drama it might have been. “Islands” gave me the opposite experience.
It is indeed a good movie, and quite an honest one, yet its setup is so ripe for cut corners and heartwarming chintz that I was almost surprised to see it sidestep the diagram I was expecting.
I bet other viewers will have the same reaction. Written and directed by Martin Edralin, “Islands” is a feel-good movie that, in an odd way, doesn’t try to make us feel too good.
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