It was wonderful!!
Added 11/16/2009
It was wonderful! I had been suffering from insomnia for over six weeks. I tried everything to sleep, but nothing worked. A friend recommended this movie. I began watching it. Saw this man jogging down a snowy path to a tunnel. I fell asleep. I woke up twelve hours later fully refreshed! It was wonderful!!
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grief thriller, lyrical and full of dark mood
Added 11/14/2009
**spoiler warning**, though these plot facts are more or less on the cover blurb.
This is one of those films that you either get or you don't. Kidman is a beautiful young widow, who lost her husband 10 years before. Preferring to grieve in a comfortable past as constructed in her mind rather than move on, she has finally consented to marry a man about whom she was and is ambivalent. The pace is slow, all the emotions and thoughts are below the surface, never fully explained though hinted at.
Just at the moment that she appears ready to re-enter life, a strange boy appears, claiming that he is in fact her husband. The boy knows too much for it to be a hoax, so Kidman decides to explore the phenomenon. An array of characters re-enter her life, whose layers are peeled away slowly, though ambiguously. It is like an exercise in introspection for her, though she has come to believe in the boy and his claim yet maintains her ignorance of certain crucial facts. Finally, it is the boy who realizes that he can't be the dead husband and returns to his former life. It ends with nothing explained, except for the parting emotions that erupt at Kidman's wedding. This is subtle art that can result in many interpretations - spirit visitation, a spell, shared insanity, possession - that makes this titillating and fun, entering the viewers' imaginations if they are so inclined.
The feeling is spooky and melancholy, with stunning consistency that cuts deeply. This is not for everyone, but I would recommend it warmly.
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Waste of talent
Added 11/4/2009
The presence of Lauren Bacall, even in a minor featured role, reminds us of how terribly out of synch this film is with its times. One might take seriously the notion that in a film set in in a remote village in Ireland, in 1864, an obviously deranged young woman would be allowed to commit child abuse on a ten year old boy, without being put into the hands of the psychiatric profession, willingly or unwillingly; but to have it occur today, in a NYC setting, within a professional family of some apparent means, having a medical man either as a member of the family or a close friend, lacks any credibility. Of course, one can build a film (Rosemary's Baby) so that the most bizarre behavior conforms to theatrical (not mathematical or philosophic) logic but that is not the case here. I can't go beyond the general statement without revealing more of the story, but it should be clear that I was quite uncomfortable with both the premises and the behavioral outcomes from those premises.
Bound by a shaky script, the actors did well not to embarrass themselves. Mostly, the disjointed narrative made it difficult for anyone, but Kidman, to be coherent , the one playing her character's fiance being made a particular victim.
It was hard to pin down just what relationship most of the characters had to Kidman's character, save for the mother, sister and fiance; this added to the generally incomprehensible nature of the action.
I should add that, if you can suspend judgment on the basic premise, then you might well find the film entertaining. I've seen nothing to indicate how it was received by the critics or the public when it was released.
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Interesting, disturbing yet overwhelming!
Added 9/25/2009
Quite interesting film, Nicole Kidman in a very different, very unusual role moreover playing a lady trapped in a very unusual situation. The film deals with an unusual subject but definately cannot be considered ungenuine at all. We get familiar with almost all the charecters, their emotions, their feelings etc. Its not just a young boy and a grown up lady staring at each other, there are things going on, there is a tension bulding up and its shown reasonably in the film. The film does not emphasize on 'Pedophilia' issues, though it just attracts you and you can't take your eyes off the screen. Decent film-making here and reasonable performence by everyone.
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Nicole Loves Kid Man
Added 8/28/2009
If we were to sum up the main theme of this story in the fewest words the title of this review would say it all. When this movie was first released the main and possibly only draw was that the story was about the relationship of an adult woman and a 10 year old boy who says he is the woman's dead husband. The 100's of other reviews can inform you of the basics of this movie. I would like to save some of you time by saying that the story is weak and, unless you like tales involving obsessive and emotionally irresponsible people, than you may be tempted to stand up and yell, "Are there any adults around here?!". You may find yourself torn. You may like tales like "The Turn of the Screw", where you wonder if the premise could be true or is it just a case of mental illness, That is, if you catch that the boy finds the love letters of the widow's dead husband's mistress before he announces he is her dead husband. Our, you may be deeply troubled as to why would responsible adults allow an unhealthy infatuation continue between an emotionally troubled adult and a child. I admit I am biased. I have enough friends who have been damaged when they were young. We don't need stories like this to inspire troubled people to pull children into their fantasies and mess with their minds.
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