“Boundaries” Knows Where Those Are

Boundaries implies it’s a film with no boundaries or trying to find it boundaries.

Christopher Plummer plays the boundary pushing father on a road trip with daughter Vera Farmiga who is struggling to find and define her own, along with her artistic son, Lewis MacDougal, who is seeking his own identity in the boundaries between the two parents. Along for the ride is a pack of adorable canines adopted along the way to give the three soft character edges.

Bounding road trip movies are more about the characters than the plot. They allow good actors to play against type and fill in the motivational gaps lacking in the screenplay.

Christopher Plummer does wonderful work as the father, a mellowed out geriatric version of the character Peter Fonda played in Easy Rider. Fonda even shows up as an old stoner associate to give credence to the link, with Christopher Lloyd tagging along to add some psychedelic Doc Brown vibrations. An extended cameo from a sleek early model gold Rolls Royce stands in for the old Harley, now to impractical to have in a movie about family bounding.

Vera Farmiga gives enough of a performance to make one rueful for her being stuck in horror roles for the last five years. Still, this is Plummer’s movie and his latest shot to seek Academy recognition.