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Little Boxes

Play trailer 1:53 Poster for Little Boxes 2017 1h 24m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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70% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 49% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
It's the summer before sixth grade, and Clark (Armani Jackson) is the new-in-town biracial kid in a sea of white kids. Discovering that to be cool he needs to act more black, he fumbles to meet expectations, while his parents, Mack (Nelsan Ellis) and Gina (Melanie Lynskey), also strive to adjust to small-town living. Equipped for the many inherent challenges of New York, the members of the tight-knit family are ill prepared for the different set of obstacles that their new community presents.
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Little Boxes

Little Boxes

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Critics Consensus

Pleasantly packed with polite optimism, Little Boxes doesn't step outside its confines to carefully -- or wittily -- examine the nuances of "nice" suburban racism.

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Critics Reviews

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Soraya Nadia McDonald Andscape 09/26/2017
In Little Boxes, there's cause for optimism because Meyer and Howell are doing interesting work that's absolutely necessary and not always easy: interrogating whiteness and the ways it shapes the people of color who encounter it. Go to Full Review Katie Walsh Los Angeles Times 04/14/2017
"Little Boxes" offers tame social commentary in a pleasant package. Go to Full Review Tricia Olszewski TheWrap 04/14/2017
Has good intentions if not the subtlest delivery. Coming in at merely 84 minutes, the film had plenty of room to include more shading of its characters. Go to Full Review Stephen Saito Moveable Fest 03/01/2019
A satisfying family drama and a provocative comedy, and for a film that shows how unfortunate easy labels can be, it resoundingly proves its point by not easily being categorized itself. Go to Full Review Jon Winkler The Young Folks 04/28/2017
4/10
The greatest error in Little Boxes is that, despite dealing with a very serious and resonant topic, it's essentially harmless. It says nothing new and it's not funny enough to distract from how toothless it reveals itself to be. Go to Full Review Kenji Fujishima Paste Magazine 04/14/2017
6.3/10
Little Boxes at least acknowledges that messiness in a manner that feels like the filmmakers honestly, if at times clumsily, wrestling with an agonizingly complex issue. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Rosana B @RosanaBotafogo 07/10/2023 Aquele filme tão cheio de camadas que ao mesmo tempo que acalenta o seu coraçãozinho, nos dá um aperto, nos faz chorar, tantas coisas trabalhadas não só filme, uma família enormemente amorosa e perfeita até mesmo nas suas imperfeições... Pré-adolescência período conturbado, o racismo e o anti-racismo trabalhados de formas diferentes, complexas e maravilhosas... Não devemos generalizar, e tratar como cada indivíduo de um grupo como um indivíduo único, difícil, mas nem todo bolsominon é mau caráter, às vezes ele é apenas ingênuo, ou se deixa levar pela igreja... See more 07/02/2021 I absolutely love the movie I understood it everywhere I left I got it Kobe was beautiful that ass look at the new Isis and spirit literally I understand from a clear mind and a mindset that I'm judgemental from what we already know as a society and embrace this movie for the techniques and for its craftsmanship and its own style in in the way that this particular family are interracial and I'll still be locating in trying to navigate to new community of folks that they don't know and reasons a child is also going through something and do it we find it interesting to watch them navigate in Albany Georgia to go to sleep at night and then at the end when they were sitting on the couch it was an unspoken thing is I really really appreciate it that part 2 the movie May Nelson rest in peace I'm going to miss her See more Dave C @RT09838700 06/04/2021 Uh, not sure what it was really trying to tell us about... It felt purposeless, and has no real substance to the story... As for the characters, I didn't care for a single one of them See more georgan g @RT98616417 08/28/2020 Reality for everyone. No big drama, but interesting to watch. See more 08/26/2020 Aunque tiene una corta duración, consigue crear una trama que atrapa al espectador. See more 08/15/2020 The family didn't have furniture for a week and just about lost their minds. I don't even know what to say. Took me 3 days to finish the movie because I couldn't take how bad the scenes were. See more Read all reviews
Little Boxes

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Cast & Crew

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Rob Meyer

Director

Melanie Lynskey

Gina

Nelsan Ellis

Mack

Armani Jackson

Clark

Oona Laurence

Ambrosia

Janeane Garofalo

Helena

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Little Boxes

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Little Boxes

A scene from "Little Boxes." A scene from "Little Boxes." A scene from "Little Boxes." Little Boxes (2016) Little Boxes (2016) Little Boxes (2016) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis It's the summer before sixth grade, and Clark (Armani Jackson) is the new-in-town biracial kid in a sea of white kids. Discovering that to be cool he needs to act more black, he fumbles to meet expectations, while his parents, Mack (Nelsan Ellis) and Gina (Melanie Lynskey), also strive to adjust to small-town living. Equipped for the many inherent challenges of New York, the members of the tight-knit family are ill prepared for the different set of obstacles that their new community presents.
Director
Rob Meyer
Producer
Jared Goldman, Jordan Horowitz, Ken H. Keller, Caron Rudner
Screenwriter
Annie J. Howell
Distributor
Gunpowder & Sky
Production Co
Gilbert Films, Related Pictures, Mighty Engine
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 14, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 15, 2017
Runtime
1h 24m