Amidst the clashing of robotic carnage, swooshing of flying superheroes and sailing of the high seas that often fill up our summers, equally challenging battles are being fought on a somewhat smaller scale.

In A Better Life (expanding wide this Friday), Twilight Saga: New Moon director Chris Weitz brings his big budget gravitas to an intimate, character-driven film, dabbling in modern politics while keeping the focus on familial drama. The story centers on Carlos (Demián Bichir), a gardener in Los Angeles who trades his life savings for a truck, allowing him to start his own business and hopefully get him and his son Luis (José Julián) into a new neighborhood.

Not what you might expect from a studio flick -- but from the look of the trailer, that might be exactly what Weitz and his team are going for.