We are instead given a number of impressive, but token flashy performances by veteran actors in tough guy bit parts (Pete Postlethwaite and Chris Cooper as
irredeemable lifelong criminals) and newcomers in «dramatic stretches» (The Hurt Locker's Jeremy Renner who is good (again) but not as great as the star - makers would have you believe, and
most notably, Blake Lively, excellent as a drug - addled neighborhood floozy).
Even in the face of life - altering disappointments or genuinely insurmountable problems,
most moms come up with a way to try again, reinvent hope, and make something good out of what seems
irredeemable.