I was looking for movies on brother relationships and stumbled on this one starring Ed Harris. For a low budget indie it's surprisingly good, but when I found out the story of the film's making afterward, I was really impressed!

The story is about a couple of twins, who want to be major league baseball players, growing up with an alcoholic bum of a dad.

It turns out to be based on a true story, and the actors who play the twins are in fact the boys from the real story. In fact, they also wrote the script, directed the film, and did all this in less than a year! Simply amazing. Impossible even.

And these kids had no training and don't even have college degrees. They're only experience was a little bit of modeling, as they were literally drafted for that off the streets. Apparently they cornered Ed Harris and got him to agree to play the part, and that led to a budget and all the rest.

I have to believe they had plenty of seasoned help here, both with the script and the directing. Too many things show a veteran hand.

For example, the conflict created between the twins during the story is textbook. And the subtle little touches and hints at theme are impressive. Let me give an example.

The boys have a mentally handicapped uncle who raises pigeons and paints. Explaining one of his simple paintings, which is of multicolored pigeons in flight, he explains to the boys that the painting represents pigeon dreams, where their world is full of color and they can fly forever, never growing tired.

Which relates to the story of struggle life around the boys presents. Most people in this small town work in the nearby quarry, dying young after hard lives. The boys dream that baseball will be their tickets out, but the dream suffers serious setbacks. Their making it out is not only their dream, but that of their friends, who have no chance but might live vicariously through them.

Another example, one which seems a little simple but is still moving, is when one of the boys who works at the quarry with them asks how old you are when you go to heaven. We know what's on his mind. He hasn't been out of high school long, but he knows life will be a kind of purgatory. These could be their best years, but instead they will spend them slaving away over rocks and gravel. Rest will only come when they are old and bent and broken.

Another deft touch comes late in the film when the father, an alcoholic and degenerate gambler, sneaks into his mother's house, where the boys are staying. One of the boys has been working two jobs in order to save up to go to Arizona for a baseball try out, his money stashed in a jar. The father hunts around for the money and takes it away, with the boys not home.

Where the scene shows an experienced touch is this: unseen by the father as he steals the money, his mother, the boys grandmother, sits watching in the dark. What is she thinking? Why does she not try to stop him? This adds a layer of depth that is pretty impressive for 2 kids writing their first script!

All the elements for good story are present here and presented in a believable way: young men striving toward a dream, trying to escape a difficult life; the severing and reconnecting of powerful family bonds; conflict brought on by difficult circumstances; humor where needed; colorful supporting characters; deft moments of thematic exploration; mentors to show the way; and a structure that turns when needed.

For those interested in writing stories of this nature, there's a lot to learn in this film.