INFINITELY POLAR BEAR: 4 STARS. “The Hulk uses his superpowers for good.”
When the first “Avengers” movie with the Hulk came out I asked Mark Ruffalo how tied he was to the franchise. He said he was signed on for a half dozens more films, but also understood the power of the kind of celebrity that comes from starring in blockbuster movies. That power trickles down and makes it possible to more easily raise money for smaller more interesting (my words, not his) projects.
“Infinitely Polar Bear” is one of those movies. Ruffalo stars in and is executive producer of this low budget indie film about Cameron, a manic-depressive man’s efforts to win back the affections of his wife Maggie (Zoe Saldana) and reunite his family.
Based on the real-life childhood experiences of writer-director Maya Forbes, the film shows, in heartbreaking and carefully observed detail, Cameron’s attempts to cope as he raises the couple’s two daughters (Imogene Wolodarsky and Ashley Aufderheide) while Maggie studies in New York.
Forbes has crafted a heartfelt and honest portrait of a loving man struggling to get by day-to-day. Ruffalo and Saldana hand in engaging, nuanced performances. They have chemistry to burn and their affection for one another pours off the screen. Both are from the Marvel Universe and both are using their stardom for good here, but it is Wolodarsky and Aufderheide as the daughters who give the movie its beating heart. Lovely, naturalistic performances ground the movie and prevent it from becoming simply a feel-good dramedy.
“Infinitely Polar Bear” might have had more depth if it spent less time on Cameron’s highest highs and more on his despair, but it’s agile enough to present a fully formed portrait not just of a manic depressive man but of a group of people trying to be a family.
This time around The Hulk used his superpowers for good.