A different kind of road trip, Lost in the Sun takes a ride cross country with very good acting performances by Josh Duhamel and Josh Wiggins. Under the able direction of Trey Nelson the two fine actors make the simple theme work. And melding Nelson’s coming of age story with a twist that you may realize early on, makes the impromptu trip an intriguing action drama.
Discovering the funeral for Laura Moody in the obits of a local newspaper, John (Josh Duhamel), an ex-con and small town crook, shows up at the burial service. There he watches as her 14-year-old son Louis (Josh Wiggins) says his last goodbyes. In a conversation outside the church with the pastor, John finds out that the boy is going to be put on a bus to his grandmother’s home in Farmington, New Mexico. He approaches Louis at the bus terminal and offers him a ride to his grandmother’s house. So begins a wild and woolly trip across the continent with a few robberies thrown in for excitement.
Director Trey Nelson moves his film along at a fast pace introducing his characters within the first few minutes and then putting them in a car to show how they react with each other. In the process we find the two becoming friends while Louis comes of age in a hurry as he’s thrown into a life on the run. Nelson does an outstanding job of getting realistic performances from his main characters with this compelling film that will have you wondering what’s around the next corner.
Josh Duhamel (Transformers) and Josh Wiggins (Max) are the perfect pair in this thriller. Its con man leading naive teen and the two find themselves bonding in this offbeat situation drama. Each of the characters has their own priorities. With Duhamel’s John it’s using the boy to pick up enough money to pay a debt he acquired while in prison. He’s under the thumb of one of the meanest loan sharks in the East who keeps raising the rates every day he’s late.
Wiggins plays Louis a trusting kid who just wants to cope with the death of his mother. Getting to his grandmother’s house becomes a challenge with John’s out-of-control life, yet he finds out more about living than he ever had growing up with his mom. But he’s growing up too fast and finds himself heading for a dead-end life. When he meets 13-year-old Rose (Emma Fuhrmann) at a motel where the two travelers take a nights refuge, the chance meeting opens up his eyes to a little romance.
Lost in the Sun has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains violence, language, sex and partial nudity. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the film as it does have some scenes that are inappropriate for adolescents.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very entertaining film with enjoyable performances. (B)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Josh Duhamel, Josh Wiggins, Lynn Collins
Directed by: Trey Nelson
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
MPAA Rating: Not Ratged, contains violence, language, sex and partial nudity
Running Time: 1 hr. 36 min.
Release Date: November 6, 2015
Distributed by: Entertainment One Films
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
