BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

ChicRawIdol A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

HotToastyRag Empire Falls is a depressing town in which every resident has problems, and all but one of those problems are self-inflicted. The one exception is Joanne Woodward's crippled daughter who was run over by a car when she was a toddler. It's hard to feel sorry for anyone else in the town. Ed Harris manages a restaurant but can't get his head above water because wealthy Woodward owns everything and to cross her means ruination. So don't cross her! He can't express his feelings for his soon-to-be-ex-wife Helen Hunt, so she's going to marry someone else. Just figure your feelings out, and either fight for her or let her go—it's not that difficult! Helen Hunt is upset because her fiancé is significantly older than her, but he loves her and is great in the sack-a-roo. Get your priorities straight, Helen! Robin Wright Penn is a single mom drawn to mysterious, wealthy Philip Seymour Hoffman. Just say no and focus on your kid! Hoffman is miserable in his environment—so leave! Paul Newman is the town joke/drunk/mooch, but he wants to feel the excitement of being a young man again. Clean up your act! Alright, my frustrations have been aired out, but I don't think I've successfully steered you away from Empire Falls. It's incredibly depressing, and not in a good way. It was based off of Richard Russo's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, so I kept waiting for the redeeming factor to enter the story. The three and a half hour HBO TV movie is split into eight chapters, and in the seventh chapter, something really bad happens. You know I never give spoilers, but the thing that happens is really upsetting and unnecessary. It's random and doesn't tie in to any part of the story, serving only to shock and upset audiences (and readers) and to gain Russo the Pulitzer Prize. It's terribly obvious that's why he wrote it, a reason that's not noble and, frankly, almost angers me.There's only one good part of the entire movie: In a flashback to a young Paul Newman, Josh Lucas was cast. I've always thought Lucas and Newman looked alike, so I was very happy that Hollywood agreed with me, even only for a few minutes of a flashback. The story constantly flashes back to Ed Harris's childhood memories, and for most of the time, it's boring and not very interesting.I can't stress enough how terrible Empire Falls is. Please, please don't watch it. It's so incredibly upsetting, and for absolutely no purpose, that when it was over, I had to watch an animal documentary to comfort my mind before going to bed, for fear of nightmares. The story isn't deep or symbolic. There's no "greater good" that will make you feel better.I never give spoilers in my review, but if you're still considering watching Empire Falls, I urge you to read a spoiler. Then, if after reading it, you're still considering watching it, get your head examined.Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to some extremely upsetting content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

coolrobbie It took me weeks to read the book, which, for me, is unusual. It wasn't that I didn't like it; to the contrary, I couldn't believe how terrific it was. But I could not put my finger on why it was taking me so long to read, until I reached the final third of the book: I simply did not want it to end. I had come to know the characters so well, through the deftness of Richard Russo's prose, and had come to like (at least most of) them, that I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye.Such was my reaction to HBO's film version of this great American novel.Others here have praised the production, so I'll only add my brief thoughts: The cast, from the main players to the secondary characters, is uniformly excellent, with one or two exceptions. It was thrilling to see Joanne Woodward back on the screen, but she interprets the role with a softness that, in my opinion, was entirely absent from the actual character she was portraying. So, a point or two off there. Otherwise, the acting was brilliant.The screenplay adhered very closely to the novel, but some key dialog was disappointingly missing. I recognize that a 400+ page book, to be translated to film, requires editorial discretion. Still, a few things were lost that should have remained.While the first half takes its time to establish characters and relationships, the second half feels rushed, and the ending definitely so. I couldn't help but feel that something was left on the cutting room floor. But then again, I didn't want it to end in the first place.Because I am such a fan of the book, I was eager for my wife to see the movie (she hasn't read the book). So, I had a lot invested in the hope that they wouldn't screw it up. When the final credits rolled, I looked over at her, and her tears were flowing. "I didn't want it to end," she said quietly.And neither will you.

jsawyer1 hey y'all i was bored and surfing the net and found the web sight for the man who played Brian. If you want to check out the drunk bus boy's web sight go to www.timmytime.org Brian the drunk bus boy is one of my Dav. I found a new scene that he is in too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc8vHftqAvs He is directing a play that he wrote as well Tim is an amazing man. Feel free to check them out and see for yourselves the scene on you tube is funny as hell. As far as Empire falls i really enjoy how they show Maine. I have grown up here and was excited to see it on TV. Please rent and watch this and judge for your selves at how good this movie is. If you liked to book you will love this movie.

Jay09101951 They go where they must, not where we want them to go. With those words from this totally terrific movie, you get touched for the 1st of many times in a simple movie about simple , plain people who like the rest of us, must struggle with the things like a difficult childhood, a bad marriage, feeling like your life didn't turn out they way you would have wished and all the other things that make life the up and down adventure it is. All of the acting is first-class, as good as any film made today. However, I must single out Ed Harris, Helen Hunt and Estelle Parsons who to me deserve Oscar nominations but of course won't get one in this made-for-HBO classic. This film is almost like therapy as one might identify their own troubles with some of the characters and see how they learned to overcome their troubles. I short, this is a real throw-back to the days 40-50 years ago when classics like this were common. This is a rare film for 2005.