Film Review: Thumbsucker

You could call “Thumbsucker” a “coming of age” film, as many critics have, but it would be dismissive of its most redeeming qualities. 17-year old Justin (Lou Pucci), the “thumb-sucker” of the movie title, does indeed come to some realizations about maturity, normality, and humanity but it’s his relations with others which catalyzes the lessons of the film: normality is an illusion, there are no perfect answers, and to be human is to continually reinvent and keep trying.

Complaints about the movie tend to focus on the fact that this theme has been done before, and they’re right, but I found the telling of this story to be nuanced and enjoyable, the characters flawed and interesting, and the soundtrack to be phenomenal.

A definite must-see. 4.5/5 stars.