Following up his well-received debut feature, 2000's George Washington, director David Gordon Green takes a left turn with this slow-burning drama.
It's the tale of the burgeoning affair between local ladies' man Paul (Schneider) and his pal Tip's virgin sister, Noel (Deschanel). As the couple's attitudes towards each other evolve, so do their respective relationships with angry Tip (Shea Whigham), who not unreasonably doesn't trust serial heartbreaker Paul with his inexperienced little sis.
This rough-around-the-edges look at young love in small-town North Carolina has its fair share of drama, pleasing camerawork and quirky comedy. However, although the characters are carefully drawn they fail to leave any lasting impression, while too much of the dialogue seems to have been taken from a bad improv workshop.