Thomas Haden Church is perfectly cast as Lloyd, the title character in "Acidman," a guy living largely off the grid in Oregon. In this poignant two-hander, directed and cowritten by Alex Lehmann ("Blue Jay,") Lloyd's daughter Maggie (Dianna Agron) shows up unannounced to do a wellness check on her father, whom she has not seen in a more than a decade. She finds Lloyd living in a messy home with his dog, Migo, and leaving at odd hours of the night to go on "searches" — where he communicates with IFOs, "identified flying objects" using morse code.
Church, who broke out as the oddball mechanic in "Wings," was Oscar-nominated for his role as the randy, engaged friend in "Sideways," and played the villain in "Spider-Man 3," is entirely convincing as Lloyd. He is both offbeat, enigmatic, and charismatic. What is great about his performance here is that neither Maggie nor viewers can anticipate what he might do or say next. Lloyd has moments of real clarity, but he also slips into "trances" from time to time. In one of the best scenes, Lloyd has a heart-to-heart with Maggie, while getting stoned in the back of his truck. But as father and daughter get reacquainted with one another, questions arise: Is Lloyd mentally ill? And what prompted Maggie to travel 2000 miles to see her father after all this time?
