How to Cope As a Parent - Rudderless

Even though I picked that as a title - I wouldn't recommend this movie for learning that skill.  I just recently watched Rudderless which is the story of a dad who loses his son early on in college and pretty much throws a lot of his life away with how it affect him.  He drinks too much and starts living on a houseboat.  He starts playing songs his late son wrote and in the course of discovering who he is,  he befriends another young man (about his son's age) and even starts playing in a band. This movie does a great job about showing the various ways parents cope with losing a child at an early age. Although the son died when he was about 20 years old - it took a tremendous toll on the dad and his way of dealing with it wasn't always admirable.

Here is a quick summation of what I liked about Rudderless

1. Interesting story detailing the grief of parents and how different parents grieve in unique ways at the loss of a child.

The son's mom and dad grieved in very different ways in this movie.  The mother ended up having another child whereas the divorced father took to drinking and removing himself from his business society.  He started working as a painter instead of a successful salesman and unfortunately drank way more than he should have.

2. Really interesting twist as the story unfolds.

This movie presents an unexpected twist into the whole story about mid-way through.  It blew me away and made the whole movie take on a different perspective.  Movies that can do that with good writing earn my admiration.

3. Good song-writing throughout the movie.

I thought the songs in this movie were above average.  They were typical alternative emo style music and were performed well throughout the whole movie.  This gave the movie a good artistic feel and made you appreciate the effort they put into song choices & writing.


4. Decent ending although not completely satisfying but fairly realistic. 

This didn't have a sappy ending, yet it didn't leave you feeling like it didn't close the movie right. It was a fitting ending considering the journey it takes you on, and although kind of sad, it still left you feeling like it was a good movie to watch unfold.

Dealing with grief throughout parenthood is a challenge for anyone.  Hopefully through it all, parents look to their Savior to help them find comfort and healing.  This movie didn't show that very much, but it did show the healing power of music on a grief stricken soul.