Rama’s SCREEN

KIT KITTREDGE is a family movie that celebrates persistence, and belief in the American dream. It’s mainly meant for younger audiences a.k.a children viewers to enjoy because it has… good moral value lessons for them to learn. From not being prejudice against anybody all the way to the good ol thou shalt not either steal or lie. The story is adorable and yet surprisingly dramatic at the same time, heartwarming and very inspiring. Without exaggerating it, I’m sure we can agree when I say that Abigail Breslin is quite simply the best child actress of our generation.

Kit Kittredge a little girl with big dreams but her family lives in a time when America is on its knees. The economy isn’t doing well and people are losing job left and right. Social class difference becomes more and more obvious, from those who live in other people’s houses to those who live in the poorhouse, called hobos. Kit’s father decides to go to Chicago to look for a job but Kit knows that a family should stay together. Her mom rents out many rooms in her house so they could continue to pay the mortgage. Interesting characters appear and they give contribution to the story that will end in triumph for the little girl with a big dreams.

It’s not completely naive, as a matter of fact, it does touch the effect of the times during the Great Depression but without coming off too strong. The way the depiction is done (the costume, the set design, the art direction) feels like a stage play brought to the big screen, which is not necessarily a bad thing at all.
The language is clean and the comedy works in a sense that the kids in this movie will get kids who watch it laugh from time to time, plus the dumb criminals/bad guys will make even the most mature grown-up chuckle a bit.

The drama is not too sentimental, it’s not overdrawn either, it’s an essential part of telling the story without taking away the things that make it interesting like the whole investigation into the mystery of who took the lock box.

Abigail Breslin gives a powerful performance, as always. I have yet to see a movie that she’s in where she’s not giving her all.
This whole thing could easily turn out as just another ordinary family movie but Abigail Breslin makes all the difference. Her presence is the special ingredient that gives it a kick.
Her character may be a bit too good to be true, since I have yet to meet any child who’s that smart and resourceful, but she becomes Kit Kittredge, the girl every American children should take examples from.

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