Kenneth Lonergan’s award-winning debut takes on new power in this 4K restoration
Decades after the sudden deaths of her parents, bank loan officer Sammy (Laura Linney) is raising her eight-year-old son Rudy (Rory Culkin) in the same small New York town where she grew up. Her biggest conflicts are domestic and professional, clashing with an overbearing new boss (Matthew Broderick) as she struggles with single motherhood. Into this routine drifts her estranged brother Terry (Mark Ruffalo), broke, fresh out of a Florida prison stint, and desperate to send money back to a pregnant maybe-girlfriend states away. What begins as a brief visit stretches into something deeper and disruptive, as Terry’s kindhearted yet volatile presence reshapes his fragile bonds with both Sammy and Rudy in ways that are by turns exhausting and endearing.
I was first introduced to Kenneth Lonergan through the troubled production of his sophomore feature, Margaret. Scarred by years of battles pitting playwright Lonergan and executive producer Martin Scorsese against producers and studio staff mandating an arbitrary, ostensibly more crowd-pleasing runtime. In 2011, Margaret limped to release in a trim no-man’s-land theatrical cut and a longer, more Lonergan-sanctioned rough cut on home video—neither of which was considered truly finished. Yet even in its fractured form, Margaret emerges as a haunting sprawl of conflicted, earnest characters, each distinct yet unmistakably born of Lonergan’s unparalleled gift for naturalism. Time has only deepened Margaret‘s reputation, bolstered by the later triumph of his Oscar-winning Manchester by the Sea. However, Criterion’s new restoration of Lonergan’s debut, You Can Count on Me, reaffirms that his command of character and drama was fully present from the very start.
Much like his other films, You Can Count on Me presents as scattershot scenes that fill in the wonderfully textured interior lives of Lonergan’s ensemble. On the surface, Sammy has so much put together, especially for others, but at the cost of keeping things so in line that she’s lost sight of what really fulfills her. On the flip side, Terry is an impulsive agent of chaos–but one who owns how his impulses overpower him, which is some distant step towards getting better. The beauty of Lonergan’s screenplay, and how Linney and Ruffalo bring these characters to life, is that there isn’t an emphasis on momentous dramatic reveals and revelations. Lonergan’s naturalism is about the gradual accumulation of any emotion day by day, minute by minute–how the smallest interactions poke and prod us in uncomfortable or joyous ways into hopefully becoming better people. These fleeting moments become the fragile glue binding our inner and outer lives—a sentiment clumsily, if earnestly, voiced by a doddering priest, played with gentle irony by Lonergan himself.
This new Criterion restoration amplifies the film’s quiet power, highlighting both the remarkable debut of one of our finest playwrights-turned-directors and the scrappy, celluloid aesthetics of a bygone American indie era that once made such debuts possible.
VIDEO/AUDIO
Criterion presents You Can Count on Me in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 2160p Dolby Vision 4K HDR on the UHD disc and 1080p SDR HD on the accompanying Blu-ray disc, with a new 4K master sourced from a 35mm interpolative, with an additional 35mm print used as reference material. The original 5.1 surround audio track was remastered from the 1/2-inch magnetic print master. The restoration was conducted by Criterion and approved by writer-director Kenneth Lonergan. SDH subtitles are included for the main feature and Lonergan’s commentary.
This 4K transfer, like Lonergan’s film itself, is warm and naturalistic, with a healthy film grain especially visible against the white-painted wood surfaces of Sammy’s home. Textures are well-represented, from the patchy holes of Terry’s clothing to the magazines, tables, and upholstery in Sammy’s living room. There’s a slight overexposed quality to the cinematography, which only hits home how You Can Count on Me harkens back to those scrappy indie days when any film could still be shot on 35mm. The film’s soundtrack places a healthy premium on its actors’ earnest delivery of Lonergan’s dialogue, with light foley work emphasizing the real-time drama and natural silences of each scene. This isn’t a film whose visuals or soundtrack draw attention to themselves. Still, Stephen Kazmierski’s visuals nonetheless highlight the lived-in qualities of the world of You Can Count on Me generated by Lonergan and his ensemble.
SPECIAL FEATURES
All extras aside from the commentary are included on the accompanying Blu-ray Disc.
- Audio Commentary: Newly recorded for this release, writer-director Kenneth Lonergan guides viewers through the scene-by-scene nuances of the film’s character work, candid views on the film’s larger themes about higher powers and human reactions to tragedy, production anecdotes, and transitioning from stage to screenwriting and film direction.
- Kenneth Lonergan: Writer-director Lonergan discusses his beginnings as a playwright (NYU Dramatic Writing represent!), his first paid screenwriting gig on the Rocky and Bullwinkle movie, the challenges in launching and directing You Can Count on Me, how Martin Scorsese preserved his ability to retain final cut, and more in a new interview conducted by Criterion in February 2025.
- An Area We Ought to Explore–The Cast on You Can Count on Me: In a new documentary produced by Criterion in 2025, cast members Laura Linney, Mark Ruffalo, and Matthew Broderick discuss their individual paths to acting, how their relationships with Kenneth Lonergan led to You Can Count on Me, and beyond.
- Trailer in fullscreen for You Can Count on Me’s original theatrical release.
- Booklet featuring:
- Trying to Take Car: An essay by playwright Rebecca Gilman about
- You Can Count on Me: The script of Kenneth Lonergan’s original 1996 one-act play, with an accompanying introduction by Lonergan. The scene is essentially a hybrid of the initial confrontation between Sammy and Terry with their final scene from the film’s conclusion–a fascinating origin story in comparison to the final film.
You Can Count on Me is now available in a 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo pack and Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection.
