4/5 An intimate family portrait left open-ended
  by Viva (So. Cal.)
Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo shine in this small, intimate film about a sister and brother who have no family left to turn to after they are orphaned as kids--with the exception of the sister's young son, the product of a failed relationship. Matthew Broderick also does a great job as Samantha's boss, cheating on his pregnant wife with her.

There is no definite resolution by the end, as Terry drifts out of his sister's and nephew's lives as easily as he drifted into them. He will continue to live the life of a drifter anywhere in the U.S. and has a criminal record as well. This is merely one episode or glimpse into the siblings' lives as adults.

Nice performances and great locations.

5/5 Moments of truth slip through...
  by E. Tuttle (Kansas City, MO USA)
This really is an example of beautifully simplistic filmmaking. There are no real villians in this film, but there aren't any heroes either. What is so refreshing is that this movie is just about people. People that you know in your real life. Sometimes they are witty, stometimes they are wise and sometimes they do ridiculously stupid things because they don't know what else to do. These are the players in the film. It is set in a nondescript small town in New York and is pretty much about two siblings, whose parents died when they were very young, who are trying to pull themselves out of the rut that their lives are currently in.

Mark Ruffalo's character is a bad boy character, but the director doesn't make the wandering, trouble making loner such a beautiful thing. This guy really is lonely and he doesn't know who he is. His distate for conventional lifestyles and his rage towards those that question him are his biggest faults and in some ways his greatest strengths.

Laura Linney's character seems to have gotten all of the opposite strengths from the gene pool. She is a perfectionist and a mother. She works in a bank and lives a quaint, peaceful small town life. But she is lonely also and doesn't know why. She begins two relationships with men that she has no real interest just because.

The two characters almost seem to be needing what the opposite have. She needs a bit more rebellion and spontanaeity in her life. And he needs just a little bit more structure. In some ways this is found, in others it isn't. Kenneth Lonergan, the director, isn't making a movie about people overcoming obstacles to succeed in the end. He is making a film about the graduals changes that occur everyday in one's life and how sometimes one realizes how significant these moments are and sometimes one doesn't.

5/5 Honest, Touching, Funny and Authentic
  by John Ryan (Here, Now.)
An amazing gem of a film. "You Can Count On Me" is an incredible story about loss, familial love, coping with one's own failings, and being alone. The acting is so well done, I was drawn into and held in the story. Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo embody their characters so completely, the actors melt away. Matthew Broderick and Jon Tenney play equally engrosing support roles.

The film overall is artful and well-conceived. The soundtrack complements the sometimes whistful, sometimes brutally honest, sometimes playful tone of the whole film.

Probably one of the most striking elements of Lonergan's movie is how true-to-life the stories maintain. The characters remind us of our own flaws: our inconsistencies (despite our efforts), our floundering attempts to cope with our lot and our failings, wrestling with somehow finding ourselves alone. The remind us of our own desires: to simply be happy, to love and be loved. And in the end, follow our truest sense of direction in life.

One of the best movies I've ever seen. THE best film I've ever seen about coping with being in an modern American family.

5/5 what a amazing film
  by Goofball (Bend)
this film was amazing. as a actor it is so nice to see a film that truely captures the essence of a true experience. this film had my emotions everywhere from happy to sad. The performances are amazing. Mark is brillant and Laura Linny, you can not keep your eyes off her. Matthew Brodrick is always good and this is his best performance to date for me. the little kid is sweet and you know everything he is thinking. I highly recommend this film. Not a blockbuster but better.

5/5 You Can Count on Me
  by John Farr
This powerful, fascinating film examines how two very different siblings cope with a single, life-changing tragedy, and how this event affects their own interactions. Written and directed by Lonergan (who also plays a priest), "Count" depicts this complex relationship with a nuanced mix of humor and heartbreak. Linney received an Oscar nod for her portrayal of Sammy, but it's Ruffalo's intense performance as the younger sibling that really stands out. "Count" is an uncommonly wise and human story about those family ties that bind us all.