Mat and Alan, estranged brothers, reunite just before Alan leaves for a vacation with his girlfriend. When he returns sooner than expected without his girlfriend, Alan finds Mat and his family have moved into his apartment.
Takes what could have easily been a mundane tale of brotherly dysfunction and turns it into something abstract and electrifying.
– Bilge Ebiri,
New York Magazine/Vulture,
24 Aug 2015
fresh:
The Mend finds the truths that bind families together, but it knows that everyone has to hack their own path to get there.
– David Ehrlich,
Time Out,
26 Aug 2015
fresh:
"The Mend," about a pair of oil-and-water brothers in free fall, is by turns opaque, harsh, self-aware, indulgent and wickedly funny. It's never dull, pummeling you with its prickly smarts.
– Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Aug 2015
rotten:
Sharp dialogue and strong performances tumble around this ill-defined story like shoes in a dryer.
– J. R. Jones,
Chicago Reader,
10 Sep 2015
rotten:
"The Mend" meanders from situation to situation, turning itself in the process into a wallow of dysfunction. And a claustrophobic wallow at that.