OK, this movie was better than how it sounds on paper. Thumbsucker (2005) is about Justin, a sixteen (or so) year old, who still sucks his thumb when under stress.
Yes, it is his crutch, and that is what this movie is about, crutches. Because his father ridicules him, and others mock him, Justin finds a way to get off his thumb, via doctor's prescription, but soon finds he has another crutch,,, maybe a more socially acceptable one, but ultimately a more harmful one in a Ritalin like prescription.
While this movie is not GREAT, it does offer some thought into what crutches we find acceptable and what we do not. If someone takes prescribed sleeping pills every night, does that make him less dependent that the guy who smokes out at night to help him sleep? These are the kinds of questions the movie makes us ask. And it goes even deeper.
Do we use as a crutch our own behavior...maybe uncommunicativeness, to help us cope with pain in the past, with unfulfilled dreams perhaps? Do we love food because of the comfort it gives, the stability? Do we work ourselves to death to avoid having real feelings or admit that the we are in a bad relationship?
Thumbsucker is a thoughtful film, maybe a bit light on actual story. But the questions it poses are legitimate, and it may do us well to consider them. Maybe a thumb is not so bad after all.
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