Will (Josh Hopkins) is 35, a boyish man with a high-powered ad job and a good Philadelphia address who comes to Lebanon, Pa., for his father's funeral. CJ (Rachel Kitson) is 18, a womanly girl impatient to shake off the dust of Lebanon and move to Philadelphia for college.
Their paths cross in Ben Hickernell's sophomore feature, Lebanon, Pa., a poignant portrait of an unlikely friendship and a pungent contrast of urban clamor and small-town murmur. Where Will has lost his estranged dad, CJ can't get any distance from hers.
For Will, rural-ish Lebanon is a quiet retreat where he can find his bearings and enjoy the blessings of community. But for CJ, it is a goldfish bowl where everyone is in her business. Both Will and CJ face Major Life Decisions, and it's easier to make them when they are outside their usual context.