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I loved this movie. Michelle Pfeiffer's character was so creepy, and she WAS her character. Especially her eyes - from the long stares to the furtive glances. Even her supposed redemption was negated by her eyes - glance, stare, meaning behind the act. The story was heart-rending, and the movie is NOT for those looking for action and Rambo. This is just a well-acted and directed movie with a very real story and happy ending.
July 10, 2008 | | Mothers seen as protective vultures | |
A girl born without a father and raised by a mother who is a real Machiavelli of love, has one day to face her own life through hell when her mother is sent to prison for the murder of her boy friend because he had to let her go on their last meeting because he had a date, which she of course could not accept. The girl knows all the horror there can be in the kind of institution she finds herself sent to or in the foster homes she ends up in. She is nothing but a substitute for something the foster parents do not have, or the dream that her presence is going to solve their own problems, or whatever. But the worst part is of course her mother who is, from behind the wings, pulling the strings that pretend to protect the girl whereas she is only treating her as a possession that has to be defended for future use. She thus more or less creates temptation or even death in those foster homes that could have helped her daughter. When this daughter finally realizes her mother's game it is by far too late and she can only sever the tie, the connection, the link, the bond. And it is then that she builds a compensation and pretends she finally understands that her mother loved her. When it becomes obvious the mother will not be granted an appeal or win the one she may be granted and that she will not be granted parole the daughter has to more or less make it sound as if she were responsible for her mother's crime, her mother's destitution and even her mother's continuing ordeal she deserves quite a lot. Such mothers are puppeteers with their children, daughters, and they turn their daughters into musketeers who are fighting with their own reflection in a mirror, with their own shadows, when it is not with their own mothers' shadows.
Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
February 25, 2008Listen guys...do not get put off by the fact this movie appears on the surface to be a 'chick flick'. Yes, the storyline is all about 'mothers and daughters' and yes, much of the dynamics of those kinds of relationships will escape even the more sensitive of my gender, but wait. This movie also contains three of the most outstanding performances by three talented women I have ever witnessed. Relative newcomer Alison Lohman does her 'trademark thang' (in case you haven't seen Matchstick Men or Where The Truth Lies, Alison has an uncanny ability to pass as a young teen or a 20-something woman) very well in this movie and watching her work is, in itself, worth the price of admission. But even better than what Alison does with her central role are the positvely mold-breaking performances from Michelle, Robin, and Rene. Pow! Your eyes may still be high and dry at movie's end, but I guarantee you'll be nodding your head, or pumping your fist, or genuflecting in acknowledgment of the way you were pulled past the very attractive surfaces and sucked into the characters of these four women. Where'd I put that replay button?
February 4, 2008| | | Terrific, Captivating Film | |
This movie is absolutely beautiful. I've never read the book, so I can't say how they compare. The acting is raw and perfect. Alison Lohman takes her character through drastic transitions ever so smoothly. The story moves very quickly, while still delivering continuity.
I've seen this movie just about 10 times already, and I'm still not sick of it. I rented it years ago out of curiosity, and was instantly engrossed by it. It is definitely one of my favorite movies of all time.
January 31, 2008I was required to read this book while working toward my MSW in Vermont. The story stayed with me. Anyone who enjoys a movie that deals with relationship development would want to see this movie. The acting brings the story to life in a realistic way. Watch it when you are not needing a comedy.
September 15, 2007More reviews at Amazon.com ...
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