Matthew Broderick has been walking the indie road of late, with varying degrees of success: Helen Hunt's Then She Found Me was outstanding, Finding Amanda was appalling, and now Diminished Capacity is one of his best films yet.

Tender and sweet, Broderick stars as Cooper, who sustained a debilitating head injury while helping a friend, played amusingly by Louis C.K. It's a bit ironic when Cooper is called back to his hometown from Chicago to help his uncle, Rollie (Alan Alda, as touching and tender as he's ever been) who is not having an abundance of lucid moments himself.

Of course Cooper runs into his childhood sweetheart, played by Virginia Madsen, and they all end up traveling back to Chicago together to sell a priceless baseball card that Uncle Rollie has been guarding for decades. It's a charming and simple film reminiscent of days gone by and a breath of fresh air during these extremely complicated times.

Rating TBD.

-- LJM