You Can Count on Me

At the start of the film a married couple are killed in a road accident, and this tragedy casts long shadows over the adult lives of the two protagonists.

Sammy and her younger brother Terry have reacted very differently to their parents' death. Sammy has stayed on in the childhood home in a small provincial town, while Terry drifts aimlessly around the country and is now and then in trouble with the law. Sammy, who is divorced, tries to create a secure environment for her 8-year-old son Rudy - and herself. She has a steady job, is a faithful churchgoer and is seeing the nice Bob, without it really developing into anything more than a casual relationship.

Terry is rootless and rarely turns up in his home town, but even though his purpose is to borrow money from his sister, he is nevertheless warmly received, for he is Sammy's only family. Terry is also a good babysitter and playmate for Rudy, but in the end she has had enough of his lack of responsibility.

Sammy is of the view that Terry lacks fixed points in his life, but gradually it becomes clear that Terry is not alone in not having 100% control over his life.

You Can Count on Me is a well-acted realistic drama about real people, who can smoke a cigarette without necessarily being villains. In real life there are no tear-soaked endings either - neither tragic nor rosy ones.