Accidents Happen

Peter McGinn

I would have rated this movie lower and, indeed, perhaps not even finished watching it, if it weren’t for the performance of Geena Davis. That makes sense, because she was the reason I gave it a try at all. Ms. Davis excels at portraying quirky characters. But even though there were serious moments when she played the odd but self-confident dog trainer in Accidental Tourist, in Accidents Happen, her character is half quirky (her light side) and half angry and brooding (her dark side). Not many actresses could pull it off as well as she did. She is unpredictable because of the tragedies the family has suffered, and we are led to believe that Billy is acting up for the same reasons, but I couldn’t buy into it. After all, Billy had a hand in his family’s tragedies, and while I can buy that the guilt might cause behavioral issues, asking me to sympathize with his losses while he is actively making life worse for his family and others, was too much of a stretch for me. And I certainly didn’t see any redemption in the final scene with Billy and his neighbor. Thank goodness for Geena Davis.