Emanuel and The Truth About Fishes

Francesca Gregorini's Emanuel and The Truth About Fishes (US, 2013) - Offbeat, but also frequently off-key and somewhat off-putting, Francesca Gregorini's "Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes" comes up with a mightily strained framework to deal with the grief of familial loss: the friendship between a sullen motherless teen and a woman mothering a rather singular child. Played flatly head-on with some poetic pretensions, the concept never becomes particularly credible or appealing. Pic is unlikely to find much critical support, let alone an audience beyond the fest circuit, but the presence of Jessica Biel will at least make it viable as a download title. 2013SUN. RATING: 6.