Being Flynn Review - 2 Stars

Robert De Niro plays an over the top New York city cab driver who believes he will someday write the great American novel.  Instead, he winds up in prison, estranged from his wife (Julianne Moore in flashbacks) and son Paul Dano.  Alcoholism and ego hurl De Niro downward ultimately toward homelessness. Meantime, we learn the story of his son played by Paul Dano, who takes a job at a homeless shelter in an effort to find himself.  Father and son come together under these circumstances and neither makes it easy on the other.  The story moves slowly and painfully toward a less than satisfying conclusion, in spite of the great acting chops of all involved. I suspect “Being Flynn” got made as a labor of love and I further suspect that the novel is well worth reading, but the movie hangs tight to its downer status and won’t let go.  Does it deliver what it promises?  Painful father/son attempt to reconnect.  Is it entertaining?  A real downer.  Is it worth the price of admission?  Not this time.