Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Another_Face This is a tough task. I want to explain why this film is very worthy of a viewing, without giving any spoilers away. It's not the most incredible film ever made, but it's so much better than many films made in 1999. It's beauty is organic, in that from a good story/novel comes a very finely honed and skilled script. A story that manages the odd laugh in some very dark situations. A script that gives us the kitchen sink drama of folk attempting the American dream, the tense drama that sometimes has you wondering whether you like that person you loved a minute ago, and some very normal, human days. Then you take the immensely talented Sigourney Weaver, David Strathairn, and Julianne Moore (along with other mentionables such as Richard McMillan and Aunjanue Ellis) to deliver the dialogue, and we already have something worth watching.I could attempt to interpret it, and tell you what it's all about, what it all 'means' but, in essence it's a story about some people dealing with some extraordinary events in their ordinary lives. What we learn, or take away from it is down to the individual watching.The direction, and photography is flawless, with some subtle colour themes running throughout the movie. Greys and pale blues, set with rust and bright orange as the story progresses; fields and concrete, hope and despair. The story is linear, but very rarely the camera cunningly takes us to different times and places. The soundtrack is just fine, and while it, and the film sometimes verge on being a little saccharine (which it manages to avoid in the main), what we see here are some very talented people making a good solid film.A lot of the time what you think is about to happen next, often does. But be ready for a couple of surprises, and even if what happens next is what you suspected would occur, just watch some people acting their socks off! I only found this film because the DVD was on sale for half a dollar, and bought it purely on the strength of Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore, who have never let me down. They are a couple of the best actors of their generation - I only have to point you to Snowcake, The Hours, or Magnolia for solid proof of that. Apart from their obvious acting abilities, I particularly applaud their lack of vanity, and dedication to getting things right.If you think you're into good film, and want to see all of them before you die, then you really should watch this one.

Martin Bradley At the heart of Scott Elliot's drab, soapy screen version of Jane Hamilton's novel is a terrific performance by Sigourney Weaver as a woman accused of child abuse. She is a school nurse who hates her job, is unhappy in her marriage and in whose care her best friend's daughter drowns. Jail is a kind of redemption. The film ought to shake you up, but Elliot imbues it with a kind of cold, clinical detachment. It's like a blueprint for emotion and, while Weaver is very powerful, the material never touches you. As the friend whose daughter dies, Julianne Moore touches a few nerves and David Strathairn is very fine as Weaver's dull, uncomprehending, caring husband. But they are all acting in a vacuum. You don't care what happens to anybody.

smgelscheit Set in Southern Wisconsin, the accents in this movie were so stereotypically Hollywood's idea of the way people in the mid west speak- the flattened vowels held just a little too long. I grew up in the Milwaukee area and these accents sounded false to my ears. I'm surprised cheese and beer didn't play larger parts in the plot (though there were cows).

hroeder This film could terrify some. It is certainly gripping, but it's carried by superb performances by Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore. The only film I can think of that is quite as moving is another Sigourney Weaver film, Death and the Maiden.The tone of the two is very similar, but there is more hope in this outing. It still isn't something for the kids. But if you love acting, if you love to see real emotions rather than concocted attempts to feel, then watch it. And remember to keep your own Map of the World.