Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

cprovencio9 This movie was very touching, bringing up past memories from the viewer with an innocent and heartfelt storyline. The ten year old Willard Young, played by Elijah Wood, similar to his role as Frodo Baggins of Lord of the Rings becomes the protagonist of the movie. His unconditional love and affection to the surrounding cast leave a trail of transformational outcomes beyond rigidity and indifference to life. At the same time the viewer has the opportunity to relive their childhood experiences and reflect on what is valuable. Each of the characters learn to confront their biggest fears: loss,feeling of being unloved, inadequacy, and brokenness.

Pepper Anne This is a pretty good drama about several people dealing with difficult problems. At the center of the story is Williard Young (Elijah Wood), a lonely little boy who is sent to his mother's friend's house for summer vacation in a quiet, small town.There has been a quiet, untouched bubble of emotional problems among the residences of the town who are the main characters of the story. And Williard's visit seems to make the bubble burst and each is forced to finally confront the problems they had been hiding for so long.Primarily, that is between the Reeds, the people who Williard is staying with. Lily Reed (Melanie Griffith) is the quiet, fragile type, damaged by the death of their infant son some time ago, creating a pain in her heart that she had never been quite able to get rid of. And it seems as though, it is not something she wants to let go or to stop blaming herself for. This decision, unfortunately, keeps her apart from her husband, Ben Reed (Griffith's then-husband, Don Johnson [hubba hubba]) who can't seem to get close to his wife, and has become bitter in his many unsuccessful attempts.Williard's presence, however brings them together, since both Lily and Ben, enjoy his company once they warm up to him, of course. He is like the surrogate son type. Though their relationship with Williard is often shared separately, Williard tries what he can to bring the two together once and for all, because he knows that they still love each other. They just don't know how to get over the past and get their lives back together again. It takes an awful lot of coaxing and some teary moments, of course. Melanie Griffith pulls out all the stops for this role, as does Don Johnson. And it works quite wonderfully because you can really see how much their son's death really effected them, especially Lily. The summer vacation with the Reeds is a sort of therapy for Williard, too. In part, his next door neighbor Billie Pike (Thora Birch) is one of the few friends he has aside from the Reeds and his time with her is a good lesson in the pangs of childhood like dealing with self-esteem, and learning the truth about his legendary father. It is an all around good drama. The story has a lot going on, and all of the actors, especially Wood and Griffith push things along quite nicely. You never get into too much rambling dialogue, and a story with children often entertains with little subplots of mischief while providing the comic relief to this teary (but not overly sentimental) movie.

Lee-107 I've lost count of the number of times I've seen this film. Even among the fairly good films shown on TV nowadays, 'Paradise' stands out because of its simplicity and naturalism. The plot in itself is not new. It's about a person (a little boy in this case), who reconciles a troubled couple. And it's about the couple themselves, who have become estranged after the loss of their child. Jon Bon Jovi and Demi Moore did that turn in Jovi's 'Destination Anywhere', which was good, but I'd recommend the album not the film! What films with similar plots perhaps lacked was the gigantic effort that everyone in this film has put in - from the director to the actors, the music director, the set designer...I can go on and on... What we see seems almost not a film, the acting is so natural, it seems effortless!Perhaps the fact that Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson were married in real life at the time helped, they share a great chemistry on screen, which helps when you are playing such emotionally charged roles. Elijah Wood is absolutely angelic as Willard. I had seen him in three other movies before I saw him in this one and I was pleasantly surprised to watch what a pro he was even as a wee kid! His big break of late has of course been 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy, and I hope he continues to act in more sensitively made films. About Thora Birch - boy, this has got to be her most impressive performance till date! Even bettering the ones she's given in 'Now and Then' and 'American Beauty'. She's a veritable scene stealer as the precocious tomboy Billie Pike! And never has friendship between kids been portrayed with such disarming innocence - a credit that goes as much to Wood and Birch as to the director, Mary Agnes Donoghue who has managed to get such incredible performances from all her actors. Sheila McCarthy is perfect as the single working mother of Billie who idolizes Joan Collins and for whom marriage equals security, not love. Her character though minor, is very well etched and poignant. In terms of poignancy, one might wonder at the character of Louise Latham. She makes a cameo appearance as Catherine Reston Lee, a painter living in seclusion in her little house by the lake which Billie visits on one of her wild jaunts. The only thing we hear of her later is when Billie tells Willard that she has given her some watercolors with which she is now painting. Perhaps it is an indication that Billie too will become a painter once she has grown up. The character most likely has a bigger part to play in the book on which the film is based. Even so, the screenplay of this film is one of the best. Donoghue has succeeded in really getting under the skin of her characters. This is also one of the few rare films in which natural beauty forms a part of the unfolding drama and adds a wonderful atmosphere to it. Not surprisingly, like many of its predecessors, this film was also shot in South Carolina. Last but not least, this is a bit of trivia many would be interested in - the music of this film is composed by David Newman and it is really good. What many of you might have guessed is that he's the brother of THE Thomas Newman who has has composed great music for such films like 'American Beauty', 'Little Women', 'How to Make American Quilt', 'The Shawshank Redemption','Road to Perdition' etc. Genius, I guess runs in the Newman family!'Paradise', the film IS what the title means, see it to believe it!

obi-3 I remember Siskel & Ebert giving this film a thumbs down. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw it, and how moved I was by the story. Don & Melanie are wonderful together. A bit slow moving in the story department but more than makes up for it with emotion and heart.