Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Murphy Howard 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.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Dfilson1004 My secret Santa threw in a few movies (she'd picked up at a video store going out of business) to go along with my new HULU whatever they call it. I said c'mon over tomorrow and we'll watch one or two. She brought along her sister and a great pizza. I asked who paid for the pizza and told her she had the honor of choosing the movie. She picked "As I Lay Dying". Well, what can I say? We laughed, we cried, we contemplated the meaning of the universe. We had plenty of time on our hands because we voted to stop the movie at 19 minutes and 33 seconds into it. We decided she had no choice but to put herself out of her misery. Or is that what Faulkner really had in mind???Remember, if you happen to see this movie in the bargain bin at your local 7Eleven, are you willing to pass up a Super Slurpee to prove me wrong?

rioplaydrum I never read Faulkner's classic by the same title, and from what I understand, I probably wouldn't have the patience for it anyway. My personal reading habits have a wide range of interests, from Westerns to Sci-Fi, but if any book is over 350 pages (and I don't care what it is) Oprah can go fawn over it.But I digress.'As I Lay Dying' brings to life many of the same near-primal struggles of day to day life that my grandfather used to occasionally tell stories about. The rough-hewn tone of the movie completely suspended my disbelief as all the cast mastered their roles in physical looks and attitudes.Particularly striking was Tim Nelson's portrayal of "Anse", the aging slack-jawed, bent over and backward minded Patriarch. Nelson, in fact, nails it so precisely he is barely recognizable from his many previous roles.Master make-up artist Kimberly Amacker and her crew very convincingly aged Nelson a good 30 years and 'removed' his teeth. It was an amazing transformation to behold. Ahna O'Reilly's "Dewey Dell" unfolds the age-old tale of probably the worst situation a young country girl of that era can be in: Pregnant and no husband. And no husband on the horizon, either.As the clan struggles through almost every disaster there is while transporting their dead mother's body, Dewey steals herself to the local pharmacies along the way every chance she gets in search of an unidentified drug that will abort her early pregnancy.We absolutely feel for and appreciate the extremely difficult time she has as an uneducated country girl trying to transmit in simple and cryptic language the nature of her problem. Her eyes absolutely plead for some compassion and sympathy, but she receives none. Evidently any kind of medical professional could expect to sentenced to life in prison for performing or assisting in abortions. Not to mention young girls facing banishment from their own families. Instead, poor Dewey is chided and debased further, only to resort to the most humiliating conditions available in order to purchase the drug.Considering the times, such a drug probably would have killed her as well, if not seriously compromised her health.The good old days they were not.So why only a rating of six? As with several other reviewers, the ubiquitous split screen ruined it for me. I found it extremely distracting. It effectively cut-down on the full views of such potentially beautiful panoramas and scenery reducing them to mostly head-shots of character's facial reactions. I cringed every time it appeared.Aside from that, a great story.Perhaps we can look forward to a re-work of a more traditional presentation in the future.

lizpastelrose I'm sorry, but this the the best movie I've (including two others I watched it with) have seen in a long time. This movie is full of emotion and has a great feel for the 1930s in the country; almost as if you are actually there. Phenomenal acting, James Franco is an excellent creator and director. Looooooved it x1 million. The setting with dual screens makes it even more intriguing, going from scene to scene with REAL acting. Not computer generated and an absolute masterpiece. Bravo Mr. Franco and all who contributed to this film. The horses and carriages made this film even more charming. The old fashioned dresses gave it the beauty flare. What more can you ask for in a film?

RJR99SS I was almost shocked when i heard that they would be making a movie out of my favorite book, and the fact that James Franco and Danny McBride would be in it did not leave me with a good feeling. I was blown away, however, at what a great adaptation it is. In fact, i'm not sure i'd even call it an adaptation. It IS the book. I cant think of any other movie that was truer to the source material. Obviously the book is much more long winded, and is filled with long, and often puzzling monologues from all the main characters. It's more dream like, and ponderous. But i cant think of anything that the movie left out, or missed, or put it's particular "spin" on, it was all dead on. That said, the book is a difficult read. The movie is equally difficult. You could read the entire book, and have little idea what it's about. Similarly, you could easily watch this entire movie and be completely puzzled by it. There's a lot of important plot points that gets covered, and you barely even have time to realize exactly what it is the characters are saying. Once again though, the book is the same. Questions like: why is Varadamin's mom a fish? Why is Jewel's mom a horse? Why doesn't Darl have a mom? These are sort of answered, just like in the book, but they also seem completely absurd to even ask. It's a story more about the people involved in it, and not so much about the events that take place, or even the truthfulness of anything or anyone. I would imagine most viewers will struggle to even understand what it is that the characters are saying, as they all have thick southern accents, Anse being almost unintelligible. Adding to the confusing is the fact that most everything they say is highly complex, poetry like prose that doesn't particularly care if you're following closely or not, they're still going to say it. Once again, pretty much how the book is. So it's a difficult to understand book, and it's a difficult to understand movie. I certainly loved it, but i suspect most viewers will hate it.