Rules for Moving

An advice columnist navigates her thorny relationship with her family after her alcoholic husband dies in the stirring but muddled latest from Star (Sisters One, Two, Three). Lane Meckler’s grief is complicated after her husband, Aaron, dies while driving drunk with his mistress. Now living in a tiny Manhattan apartment with her young son, Henry, Lane hopes her parents can reconnect with their grandson and decides to visit them upstate. But her anxiety skyrockets when her abrasive father regularly questions her parenting, and her mother avoids confrontation. The stultifying visit results in Henry refusing to speak to anyone but Lane. Desperate to help her son, Lane moves with him out of the city, and as she tries to get Henry to find his voice, she finally confronts her grief over her husband’s death. She also starts a romantic liaison with her landlord and comes to terms with painful memories in her past. Star handles complex family relationships and Lane’s grief well; however, Henry’s speechlessness and the revelation of secrets are treated with a heavy hand and complicate rather than enhance the narrative. This is a mixed bag of touching moments and extraneous plots. [em](May) [/em]