People with a mental or physical handicap are mother's milk to actors, or at least Oscar-bait because these kinds of roles allow actors to transform themselves, into someone they're not, either physically or 'mentally' or both. In "Dominick and Eugene" it's Tom Hulce who's 'slow' after a head injury has left him childlike. He's the Dominick character and he lives with his twin brother Eugene, (Ray Liotta), who's studying to be a doctor and the movie is about their relationship as Eugene ponders whether to move away and what will happen to Dominick if he does. Then there's the added complication of Eugene's budding romance with Jamie Lee Curtis.
It's a slight story but it deals with deeply depressing material while Hulce goes through all the usual tics you associate with this kind of part. The problem is it feels as if he's acting all the time. The other problem is that Pittsburgh, where the movie is located and was filmed, seems to be populated for the most part with the kind of lowlife who takes advantage of Dominick at every turn. I think if I lived there I would probably sue for libel. If director Robert M. Young makes good use of his Pittsburgh locations he also makes it look like the kind of town no-one might want to live in. I came away from the picture feeling slightly queasy.
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