Amy-Jo (Elle Fanning) loves her jazz pianist father Joe Albany (John Hawkes). He's on parole and a recovering addict. Her addict mother Sheila (Lena Headey) returns causing havoc. When her father gets arrested, she goes to stay with Gram (Glenn Close). After her father returns home, she befriends neighbor Alain (Peter Dinklage). Single mom neighbor Colleen (Taryn Manning) dies. Two years later, her father has a new drummer friend Cole (Caleb Landry Jones). Hobbs (Flea) is another friend.

The movie moves slowly and flat for the first three quarters. Hawkes is a good addict. The cast is stock full of great actors. I think Elle Fanning doesn't have enough to do for most of the movie. She has some narration but her character lacks real depth. She doesn't have any friends of her own age. She makes a friend with Alain but he's quickly gone. She can't hold the center of the movie and it suffers from the collapse. The last 30 minutes has some interesting moves for Amy-Jo but it's a little too late.

Sad Real-Life Story of a Jazz Pianist, Joe Albany, from the Book Authored by His Daughter, Amy Jo Albany (A. J. Albany) The Title of the Book Published in 2003 is... "Low Down: junk, jazz, and other fairy tales from childhood"...a memoir.

The Film Directed by First Timer, Jeff Preis, uses a Low-Budget with some Stunning Verisimilitude to Capture the Ambiance of the Seventies Stripped Down World of the "Low Down" Heroin-Addicted "Existence" of Desperate Souls Searching for Their Next Fix. Their Surroundings are Barely Recognizable to Anyone Outside the Orbit of the Mal-Adjusted.

The Performances by John Hawkes (Joe Albany),Elle Fanning (Mary Jo Albany),Glen Close (Grandmother),are Superb. Also Lena Heady as Joe's Wife and Mary Jo's Desperately Alcoholic Mother is Equally Near Perfect.

The Soundtrack is Fittingly Fine Featuring Joe's Music with some of Albany's Contemporaneous Peers.

The Bummer here is the Heart-Wrenching Personal Story of Joe and Mary Jo's Struggles and the Love They Carry and Care so Deeply. That Love Centers the Film and is the Redeeming Quality in a Personal Tale with so much Suffering that makes the Slice of Real-Life in a Two-Year Period of a Life-Long Battle Against All Odds so Relentlessly "Low Down".

A Noble, if Feeble Attempt to Capture it all and make it Cautionary Cinema. But One must be Cautioned that it is Not an Easy Watch and is a Depressing Look where some Folks will No Doubt See more than They can Easily Comprehend or Tolerate.

So authentically crafted that my mind, in the beginning, couldn't wrap it's self around how Elle could look the same in the '70s & '80s - did she know something about time travel (Predestination devotee?). A true, to some extent, story with great acting, sets, props, writing and authentic jazz of that period. Good see an actor actually playing the musical instrument central to the movie's theme. An accurate telling of the impact of drugs, poverty and questionable parenting.

Two hidden surprises were Peter's "Game of Thrones" bow and a movie theater marquee of the controversial and perhaps revolutionary "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song".