UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

barb57 I just happened to catch this movie on cable last evening and it captivated me. Waterland should have received accolades when released but I had never even heard of it. All the acting is quite good but I was disappointed only to catch a glimpse of Maggie G. at the beginning of the movie as I was hoping for more of her. The story intrigues as it twists and turns in and out of the past and present without confusion but a slow and steady revealing of itself. Ethan Hawke is intriguing in what may even be his first film. Jeremy Irons fits a history teacher perfectly. I highly recommend this film for everyone who enjoys a good story, excellent acting, and beautiful filming.

whippetrun I found Waterland to be a great example of how to film an almost unfilmable book. I found it extremely moving in it's storytelling, and the fact that it came and went so quickly (in Toronto anyway) a tragedy...it deserved more.

Brigid O Sullivan (wisewebwoman) And this movie excels in bringing this to life in a believable way. Jeremy and his wife Sinead excel as the older couple in this as do their younger selves portrayed by different actors. There is a wonderful love story threading through the whole movie and you are not too sure where it is heading. Jeremy plays a history teacher in the US, I understand that the book had him teaching in England where the first half of the movie takes place. Waterland refers to land that has been reclaimed from the ocean and is extremely flat with streams and water running through it. He is married to his childhood sweetheart and they have both been traumatized by an event that took place while they were in their teens. There is an aura of sadness around them 20 years later as they arrive at the doorway to middle age and the long held pain within the wife starts to manifest itself in strange ways. I see the waterland of their youth as allegorical in this, the reclaiming of their lives from their childhood tragedy. Some of the history lessons were a little awkwardly done, I found them forced and a key plot twist I could see from a mile away, but on the whole this movie captured my attention and I gave it an 8 out of 10. It would not be to everybody's taste.

zooey Here is one of the best films of the 1990s. I remember the first time I saw it, I wasn't too sure what to think. I've seen it countless times in the last six or so years, since that first viewing. I am completely in awe every time I watch it. In awe of the way Jeremy Irons conveys sadness better than any actor working today. In awe of the hypnotic score, the sense of mysterious longing it evokes. In awe of everything here...I swear this film breaks my heart every time I see it.