Directed by:
Susanne BierScreenplay:
Allan LoebCinematography:
Tom SternComposer:
Johan SöderqvistCast:
Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny, John Carroll Lynch, Alison Lohman, Robin Weigert, Omar Benson Miller, Paula Newsome, Liam James, Quinn Lord (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Audrey Burke (Berry) is reeling from the shock of the news that has just been delivered to her door by the local police: her warm and loving husband Brian (Duchovny), the father of their two young children, has been killed in a random act of violence. Once anchored by the love and comforts of their 11-year marriage, Audrey is now adrift. Impulsively, she turns to Jerry Sunborne (Del Toro), a down-and-out addict who has been her husband's close friend since childhood. Desperate to fill the painful void caused by her husband's death, Audrey invites Jerry to move into the room adjacent to their garage in the hope that he can help her and her children cope with their sudden loss. Jerry is facing a daily battle to stay off drugs, but in his unexpected role as surrogate parent and friend to Audrey's son and daughter he finds a core of inner resilience. As Jerry and Audrey navigate grief and denial, their fragile bonds are constantly tested. Working together, however, they discover the strength to move forward. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (3)
A Forster movie made by a woman. The acting potential is drowned in a lack of emphasis on direction and a script that goes basically from nowhere to nowhere. You'd want to enjoy a Del Toro this good more, but there's an element of unpredictability and a scene that will rip your balls off. Everything is a template, and that includes Halle Berry, who basically reprises her performance from Monsters Ball, except she doesn't take her clothes off. I'm not denying the solid existential subtext and the pressing theme of the reality of ordinary mortals, but there's already been so much of that, that this one is not enough on its own.
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Produced by Sam Mendes, this is a fairly well made drama with convincing acting from Benicio Del Toro, a reasonably tolerable Halle Berry, and a slightly average Duchovny. I really liked the "dedication" of Del Toro's character, where he was more of a supporting character in the first part, only to draw all the attention to himself afterwards, for which he rightfully deserves the fourth star.
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I don't have anything against dramas. I do enjoy them in fact. Unless they end tragically, they are often left open-ended, which reminds me of real life. I was perfectly satisfied with this film in this regard, but there was something else that bothered me. Despite all the tragic circumstances presented in the plot, the story of a junkie who managed to turn his life around struck me as almost fairy-tale-like at times. In terms of acting, I had no problem with anyone, but I can’t say the same about the writing. When good things start happening to people, I expect the film to turn into a horror movie in which extremely unpleasant things soon start happening, or a fairy tale. This was the latter option as far as I’m concerned. It wasn't a bad movie, but the filmmakers showed little sense of reality. / Lesson learned: If you ask too many questions, you’ll find out things you didn’t want to know.
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