Hollywood loves a comedy about a plucky kid and an aging eccentric. It also loves a drama about a child in danger. Starring Susan Sarandon as Sylvia, a chain-smoking, sharp-tongued, first-time foster parent to spirited eight-year-old Emily (Everly Carganilla), “The Accompanist” tries to be both. It also tries to do a whole lot more, not always successfully. One of the miscalculations of this often appealing but ultimately disjointed dramedy — the feature directorial debut of “Silicon Valley” star Zach Woods — is that viewers will root for Sylvia and Emily to remain a family, even as the former reveals herself to be a less-than-suitable caretaker. Side by side, they make a fierce, somewhat madcap duo. We feel for them, laugh with them, and yearn for their happy endings, until Sylvia’s failings throw the movie off balance.
We begin by hewing closely to Emily, a New Jersey child who lives with her grandfather, Martin (Kevyn Morrow). He’s a loving guardian, clearly devoted to Emily even as he grapples with signs of dementia. The pair have developed ways of coping with Martin’s memory loss; he leaves notes for himself around the house, while Emily keeps track of her own schedule. It’s only once Martin mistakenly drives them onto an active railroad track that the film introduces a troubling possibility: Emily may no longer be safe under his care.
