Welcome to the Rileys

Since the accidental death of their daughter, the marriage of Doug (James Gandolfini) and Loïs Riley (Melissa Leo) is in shambles. While Loïs huddles in the home they share and no longer ventures out the door, Doug tries to numb his loneliness by having an affair with a waitress. But just as he tries to take the sexual adventure to a higher level, his lover dies and Doug finds himself alone again. But then, on a business trip to a New Orleans strip club, he meets young Mallory (Kristen Stewart), who gives his life new meaning. Because Mallory reminds the quiet businessman extremely of his deceased daughter and he draws strength from the task of freeing her from the gutter. Without further ado, he sells his business and opens up to his wife about not coming back from New Orleans anytime soon. As Doug and the stubborn Mallory slowly grow closer, Doug's behavior snaps Loïs out of her torpor. She sets off for New Orleans, a decision that will have crucial consequences for her marriage...

Welcome to the Rileys gives Twilight star Kristen Stewart another opportunity, at the best possible moment in her career, to convince doubting viewers of the talent she certainly possesses. Certainly, even in more minor films like The Yellow Sail or the comedy Adventureland, Stewart has always played the role of the underdog, as she does here. It would now be easy to simply pin her down to that type. But a closer look reveals just how different each character is and how strong Stewart's game is away from vampire romances. Welcome to the Rileys, the second feature from Jake Scott, son of cult director Ridley Scott, is a perfect example of this. Believable and authentic, Stewart embodies a young woman who hides her vulnerability beneath a gruff, emotionless surface.

However, the quiet drama is no vehicle for Kristen Stewart. Rather, Scott has directed a great ensemble drama in which each of the three main characters is equally responsible for the strength of the story. Sopranos star James Gandolfini plays the fatherly Doug with an extremely engaging warmth. And Melissa Leo, who won an Oscar for her role in The Fighter, transports the transformation her character undergoes over the course of the film to the screen very viscerally.

Packed with a fair amount of quiet humor, Jake Scott manages to infuse a story filled with sadness with a great deal of love and warmth. Immersed in wonderful images of a New Orleans beyond the lacquered Hollywood aesthetic, Welcome to the Rileys is American arthouse cinema of the most entertaining kind. Absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp