Daddy Longlegs

Joshua and Benny Safdie write and direct films with an attitude--and a deep understanding--which comes from the fact that they are brothers, and that they are dealing with their own lives. Their feature, "Daddy Longlegs," previously titled and released as "Go Get Some Rosemary," opens today as part of the Webster Film Series, with nightly performances through June 3.

Using non-professionals who are passionate, the Safdies show themselves as fine writers and directors, going off on entertaining tangents from time to time, developing characters and situations that are fascinating, and more than a little creepy. Ronald Bronstein, a writer-director but not an actor, is powerful as Lenny, the father, and brothers Sage and Frey Ranaldo portray his children. The boys are about 18 months apart in age, like the Safdies, and their mother, actress and artist Leah Singer, acts as their movie mother, Paige, and their real father, musician Lee Ranaldo, is her husband, on- and off-screen.

We, the audience, are observers of the two weeks a year when Lenny has custody of his children. He's a movie projectionist, a man terrified of both his past and his future, not knowing whether he's a father or a playmate. Making things worse is the fact that he is totally irresponsible and completely unprepared for anything that happens in his own life. When something bad happens, and it always does to losers like Lenny, he goes into panic mode, leans on friends, does stupid and wrong things.

His girlfriend, Leni, (Eleonore Hendricks) is incredibly patient, but she doesn't seem ready to cope with the world either.

Lenny loves his children, but he is unequipped to be a parent, and a parent who watches the movie will experience more moments of revulsion than of joy. One sighs with relief when the two weeks are over.

Daddy Longlegs runs today-June 3 at the Winifred Moore Auditorium of Webster University, 470 East Lockwood Ave.

-Joe