An intricately woven tale of generational trauma and the destruction we leave behind, DON’T TELL A SOUL left a deep emotional impact on me for hours after watching. Meticulously crafted, stunningly intimate storytelling plows through the more touchy plot points to create something lasting, and remarkable. It’s difficult to combine so many difficult subjects–terminal illness, mental illness, grief, crime, and so on–into one story without it feeling cluttered or ill-advised. I’m impressed and refreshed with the way DON’T TELL A SOUL juggles all of these pivotal themes to build a riveting drama.

Teenage brothers Matt (Fionn Whitehead) and Joey (Jack Dylan Grazer) are literally and figuratively running full speed down a dark, dangerous path – stolen money in hand  – when they run head on into a mysterious man (Rainn Wilson) who takes off after them. Fearful for their lives as they know he will turn them in for their crimes, they take off through the woods where they go leaping over a huge, deep hole. The mysterious man isn’t so lucky, and falls in. Older brother Matt, the mastermind of their crimes, doesn’t seem to care, but Joey decides to go back to talk to the man. “Mr. Hamby”, as he identifies himself, has broken his leg and is in pain and stuck in the bottom of this hole. He begs Joey to help him – and Joey’s guilt and fear of his big brother have a head on match with his decent heart and desire to make his sick mom Carol (Mena Suvari) proud.

DON’T TELL A SOUL has deep psychological and emotional implications right out the gate. Matt’s sociopathic behavior and abuse towards both his mother and his brother are almost too difficult to watch. Joey’s sweet nature and fawning over his mom show how shell-shocked and abused he really is. The overwhelming pall of unresolved grief over the sudden brutal shooting of their father falls over the whole house–which is dark, dingy, and in disrepair.

Mena Suvari as Carol gives a pitiful performance–and I mean that as a credit to her incredible acting. Carol is so beaten down and broken, not just by her cancer but by her unmanageable kids and her abysmal life, and it shows in every labored breath. Rainn Wilson gives a performance of a lifetime as Mr. Hamby, vacillating wildly between calm, empathetic, and nurturing and sharp and cruel. His aching need to connect with Joey is matched only by Joey’s aching need to connect with him – as a father figure, and as a potential road to freedom.

The gravitas of Wilson and Suvari’s performances in this film, which centers on two kids – both great and admired actors in their own rights, absolutely cannot be forgotten. They both give career-bending, once in a lifetime performances, well outside of their expected wheelhouses. These are performances that should define the next chapters of their careers. Wrapped up in this script – DON’T TELL A SOUL deserves to be a career highlight for the whole cast, and crew alike.

8 out of 10 stars