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neighborhood. The priest is having his own spiritual crisis, and moves warily into the community, where he meets the daughter (Anne Heche) of the woman for whom the statue serves as a memorial. The woman was beloved in her church parish, and the congregation is convinced that she was a saint. As he prepares a case for Vatican review, the priest’s own faith—and unconventional behavior—are called into question, especially by a rigid archbishop (Armin Mueller-Stahl) from Europe.

Vetere adapted his novel for the screen, with John Romano; they couldn’t have asked for a more sympathetic director than the Polish-born Holland, who has dealt with religious subject matter before, and whose films are always thoughtful and mature. With full-bodied characters and a story laced with nuance and surprise, I found The Third Miracle completely absorbing, from start to finish: one of those rarities nowadays, a movie for adults.

134. THUMBSUCKER

(2005)

Directed by Mike Mills

Screenplay by Mike Mills

Based on the novel by Walter Kirn

Actors:

LOU (TAYLOR) PUCCI

TILDA SWINTON

VINCENT D’ONOFRIO

KELLI GARNER

KEANU REEVES

BENJAMIN BRATT

VINCE VAUGHN

CHASE OFFERLE

People often ask me what I look for in a film. I don’t have any preset checklist but I can tell you that one quality I especially admire is originality. To find that trait in a coming-of-age story is especially rare, which is just one reason I have such regard for Thumbsucker, a deeply felt story of a teenage misfit layered with humor in its depiction of the off-kilter grown-ups who surround him.

Had I been familiar with the writings of Walter Kirn when I first saw this movie, I wouldn’t have been so surprised. Since then I’ve sought out Kirn’s other novels (like Up in the Air) and now I’m a dedicated fan. He has a keen eye for the follies and foibles of American life, and that’s what attracted Mike Mills to the property.

This is Mills’s first feature but he’s hardly a newcomer. His short subjects and documentaries (Architecture of Reassurance, Deformer, Paperboys) have won acclaim and prizes at film festivals around the world, but even they are something of a sideline. Mills is a world-class graphic designer whose work encompasses fine art, commercials (for Levi’s, the Gap, and Nike, among others), music videos (for such performers as Air, the Beastie Boys, and Yoko Ono), books, CD covers, and even fabric for Marc Jacobs.

Getting the backing to direct your first feature would be daunting enough for anyone, but Mills decided to write the screenplay as well. He showed the finished script to actress Tilda Swinton. She liked it so much she not only agreed to appear as the young hero’s loving but distracted mother but signed on as executive producer as well. That helped attract a number of other major names to this modest movie, including Vincent D’Onofrio, who plays the boy’s dense but hardworking father; Keanu Reeves, as his New Age orthodontist; Vince Vaughn, as his debate team coach; and Benjamin Bratt, as a TV star on whom Swinton has a desperate crush. Kelli Garner, who plays the hero’s sexy schoolmate, appeared in Mills’s first short subject when she was just fifteen.

But it’s newcomer Lou Pucci on whose shoulders the movie really rests. He hits just the right note as suburban misfit Justin Cobb, who’s just trying to find himself but seems to be misunderstood by everyone around him—including his kid brother. Even his tentative relationship with Garner is awash in awkwardness.

Mills told me that when he started working on this project he thought Elijah Wood might be good for the leading role, but it took so long to complete that the actor outgrew the part. Then he began the grueling task of auditions, and no one seemed right. Lou Pucci was the last person he saw; he was nervous, having just survived his first-ever airplane trip, and he seemed to embody the character Mills was trying to put on-screen. Pucci went on to win a Special Jury Prize for this performance at the Sundance Film Festival.

Thumbsucker sets itself apart from most coming-of-age movies with an