| Overall Grade: |
C- |
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| Story: |
C- |
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| Acting: |
B+ |
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| Direction: |
D |
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| Visuals: |
B+ |
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In a word....depressing
by JazzZ (movies profile)
Jul 27, 2007
8
of
11 people found this review helpful
Unfortunately, I once again allowed myself to be pulled into a movie based on a cast of talented actors and a pretty compelling movie clip. In a nutshell this movie is about men and women who sacrificed their lives for marriages with people they didn't love and in Ann Grant Lord's case (played by Claire Danes and Vanessa Redgrave) dreams of becoming a singer. I don't really care that Claire Danes' character didn't really resemble the older 'Ann' played by Vanessa Redgrave, but rather the fact that Vanessa Redgrave was too old to play the part. She looked ten years older than her aged friend 'Lila' played by Meryl Streep; however, Vanessa was an exceptional actor in this movie. Patrick Wilson was the love interest for both women and his performance was believeable although not enough character development to be interesting. When he ended up marrying someone other than the two main characters ...I couldn't really see the loss ..no real depth and mindless dialogue.
The actor who really stood out in this movie was Hugh Dancey who played Lila's brother with an identity crises. You could really feel the pain of the character he was portraying and the pain derived from the boundaries of his life. (Jill Knight said it best: "Who'll point the finger who'll slap your hand who'll turn away who'll understand ...for centuries our minds enslaved." - 'for the enlightened') He was a character you cared about; unfortunately when he was hit by a car, one almost felt grateful he was put out of his misery.
Finally, the writers were apparently speaking to their piers...albeit, the intelligent ones. This is a movie for those who don't need everything spelled out for them. They understand that sometimes things are better left unsaid and sometimes it is not only nice to figure it out for yourself, but live in the dream rather than the reality...in essence, create your own reality. |
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