Take Me to the River

Sobel’s assured directorial debut is the story of Ryder, an artsy, confident California teen who is heading to Nebraska for a family reunion. After planning to come out to his conservative relatives, he holds off at his mother’s request but nevertheless makes a showy entrance at the cookout with his short shorts and his eye-catching shades. No one seems particularly impressed except his 9-year old cousin Molly, who likes to follow him around. When they go to the barn to look for birds in the rafters and she comes back screaming and inconsolable, Ryder comes under suspicion and, in the process of clearing his name, learns that some family secrets are sometimes better kept that way.