Buddy and his grandparents are the soul of this thing. Meanwhile everyone else makes all the big decisions.
Balfe and Dornan are beautiful and blank, Dench and Hinds are luminous, Jude Hill sells the whole gambit with raw charisma.
The script gives all the plotty bits to the bland, pragmatic parents, and all the wise and witty and meaningful words to the elder and younger generates.
As should be.
This is why the script resonated with the Academy. It gets at a truth about family dynamics and moving along that’s rarely depicted. This ever-changing world makes a vagabond of many family units.