‘James White’ starts better than it finishes

“James White” starts well, descends into cliche and ends in ambiguity, but for about 30 of its 80 minutes, writer-director Josh Mond is on to something.

The movie is a character portrait that does double duty, as the exploration of a singular personality and as an expression of a social condition.

The opening shows James (Christopher Abbott), an aimless fellow in his 20s, in a nightclub, where the music is pounding but where he is wearing headphones and listening to much softer pop music.

The camera stays with him at about mid-level, no matter what is going on around him, and this remains the visual strategy in a lot of scenes.

Otherwise, they’re like the music in the club, facts that must be considered, but can be mostly tuned out.

Though nothing is ever spoken of this in the film, James can be seen as a child of circumstances, as someone who entered (or tried to enter) the workforce just in time for the Great Recession.

“James White” starts its long slide when it tries to locate a plot by having the mother fall seriously ill.