DubyaHan The movie is wildly uneven but lively and timely - in its own surreal way

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

kosmasp Let's say the inciting incident (or rather accident) happens early on in the movie. And while it is always important to know someone to mourn them (especially the way she's being mourned here), we do have to do that while on the journey. The journey of moving on, which may sound like a pun, but is anything but funny.So this is full on Drama and anyone who lost someone dear to them, by whatever circumstances, should be able to empathize even without a deep connection from the get go. Still this is heavy and the question is if you want to watch something like that. If you do there are the actors who really do their part as good as possible. Dianne West and our main character are the driving forces, but it's also nice to see Rosie Perez back in Action. Decent enough, if you can cope with it

Bill Jordan Three first-rate performers made me think this was going to be good. In fact, I kept watching and waiting for the ah-ha moment. But it never comes, and the movie ends with no resolution of anything. Nothing is ever explained. What is it that had the wife so upset the night before her death (or some short time prior at least)? What caused the conflict between the wife and her mother? Why did the mother invite the husband to her home, and why did he accept? Certainly, she never seemed like she actually wanted him there and he didn't seem like he wanted to be there. Sure, I can understand two people sharing their grief, but there is nothing but tension between them save for a brief moment or two. Why did the husband bring the wife's ashes on his visit, then lie about it - and what did he do with them in the end. Far too many unanswered questions for me to enjoy this film, though the performances are very good, as expected. Watch only if you want to find solace in it being over.

wildsparrow16 It is always refreshing to see a grief-themed movie that is not sugarcoated because losing a loved one WILL irrevocably change you, and it WILL cause you to make choices you might not otherwise make - in this case, spending time with your mother-in-law who never liked you, anyways. Both actors were phenomenal in their portrayal of pain, anger and loneliness. I would have liked to see more background into how Lucinda became so cold - was she always like that, even before she got sick? What were the reasons the mother- daughter relationship was so strained? Why did Lucinda never like the husband? Many questions, but at the end of the day we realize in the throes of grief sometimes anyone will do - even if they are not kind to us, it beats being alone in a room with grief, loneliness and despair. We also come to realize Lucinda is not a wooden statue after all - she is quite frightened, and while she has a caregiver, she feels very alone. We come to accept her cold and sometimes cruel behavior as she is in the throes of grief as well as cancer. You get a free pass when you are grieving or when you are ill - it's the human thing to do. Ultimately, this movie teaches us (if you don't already know from personal experience), that grief is all-consuming - there is no room for anyone else's pain - only yours. If you ever lost a loved one, you know what I am talking about. Worth watching, but may leave you unsettled.

David Ferguson Greetings again from the darkness. Every young filmmaker should be so fortunate to have Dianne Wiest and David Oyelowo accept roles in their first feature film. With what appears to be little more than an outline for a script, these two top notch actors bring the weight necessary to make us care about their characters … neither being especially likable.Written and directed by Maris Curran, it's a story of two people working through their grief and guilt, unable to share the burden due to their inability to get past their own feelings. When a woman dies in a car crash, her husband Sherwin (David Oyelowo) and mother Lucinda (Dianne Wiest) are both devastated. Sherwin tries to drown his depression with non-stop boozing, and ultimately accepts Lucinda's invitation to visit her in rural Maine (a long way from his home in Atlanta).The two have never gotten along with each other, and it turns out they each had a strained relationship with the now deceased wife/daughter. What follows are some uncomfortable dinners and conversations punctuated with much awkward silence … or cruelly pointed comments from cancer-stricken Lucinda. An unusually reserved and charming Rosie Perez is at her least obnoxious in the limited role of Lucinda's nurse (and Sherwin's confidante).There are few things that waste more energy than a competition over who deserves to grieve more. In fact, Lucinda has a line where she states that being a parent brings out the worst in people … in this movie, that holds true for grieving as well. These two characters are not their best selves as they struggle to come to grips with the gaping hole that now exists in their lives."It should have been me" is not an uncommon thought for those who have experienced the loss of a loved one … especially if they are haunted by the past. The sub-plot of the marital battle over whether to have kids becomes much easier to understand as we get to know Lucinda. As talented as Ms. Wiest and Mr. Oyelowo are, it still would have been nice to have a tighter script, and director Curran could have backed off the relentless hand-held close-ups without sacrificing the solitude and intimacy. Beyond that, she does have some good insight into the process of mourning, and how so many people hold those emotions down deep.