By John Corrado

After premiering at Sundance last year, Paramount is releasing Rudderless on DVD today.  When his son (Miles Hezier) dies in a school shooting, Sam (Billy Crudup) is left depressed, until he discovers his son’s old demo tapes and starts working through his grief by performing the songs at the local bar.

There he catches the attention of eager young musician Quentin (Anton Yelchin), and the two form an unlikely band, but their success can only last for so long before the truth comes out.  The directorial debut of William H. Macy, Rudderless often comes alive in the solid musical numbers, with Anton Yelchin lighting up the screen and making the most of every scene.

But the film takes an unfortunate turn in the last act that doesn’t make a lick of sense, and the overall message is disturbingly vague, seeming like several different movies that never really mesh together.  Despite showing promise and having some good scenes, with Anton Yelchin providing a small saving grace, as a whole Rudderless leaves a depressingly bitter aftertaste and can’t help but feel like a disappointment.

The DVD includes deleted scenes, a “behind the scenes” featurette and the music video “Hold On” with Selena Gomez and Ben Kweller.  Rudderless is 105 minutes and rated 14A.