Nonureva Really Surprised!

Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

GrimPrecise I'll tell you why so serious

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Syl While I love Mare Winningham and Jennifer Jason Leigh, I felt terrible for the lead character of Sadie Flood who longs for the same success as her older married, conventional sister Georgia. The film earned nominations for Winningham who plays the role with understanding and grace like most of her performances. I just find it so sad for Sadie who is genuinely a tragic figure of a character who loves and is at loss about her relationship with Axel, a quiet pizza guy, who falls in love with her. I remember them hitch-hiking rather than ride in a car with Georgia and her husband. It is a sad, thoughtful movie about sibling rivalry and relationships.

Andy (film-critic) What a beautiful family drama this film was! Not only did director Ulu Grosbard give us this story about two sisters and the struggles between them, but also he gave it to us (with the help of writer Barbara Turner) with a surprising twist that you do not see in everyday cinema. Here is a story that is brutally honest and exceptionally real to anyone involved. On the top layer you have a sister trying to compete with the popularity of the other, on another layer you have a troubled spirit controlled by substance abuse, and yet on another layer (and they keep going), you have this sister which isn't a good singer more passionate about the craft than the one that has an ever growing fan base. Wow. With this much structure and substance, you may think that it could get wrapped around itself relatively easy and eventually loose the potential that it has. Well, if you were thinking that … you would be wrong. Georgia is able to keep us guessing and wanting more from each passing frame. From the tight character work by Jennifer Jason Leigh and Mare Winningham to the powerfully emotional story of sisterhood, this movie will keep you enthralled until the final scene, which will literally knock you off your seat.I must applaud Jennifer Jason Leigh because I have never been as impressed with her performance as I was as her turn as Sadie Flood. From her passionate portrayal of Sadie to the ability to capture every word with crisp emotion and distinction, Leigh takes every scene and makes it her last. She is brilliant and honest at the same time. She gives so much to the camera and to the role that you move away from that feeling of watching a movie and handed that sensation of being allowed into someone's private life. This feeling could be because the events that happened on screen were "real" to those involved due to the semi-biographical story penned by Barbara Turner. This was also filmed during a time when Miramax was actually making thought-provoking films that featured nobodies giving us performances of a lifetime. While Leigh had worked before, the other breakout of this film was the title character, Georgia. While screen-time with her was considerably shorter than Leigh, it was her strong bond with Sadie that allowed Mare Winningham to even be nominated for an Oscar in 1996. While I to believe that she did deserve it, apparently the Oscar ballots felt that Mira Sorvino was better. Can you hear me shudder? I can honestly say that the reason that this film was such a powerful film about music and family was due greatly to these two anchor actresses giving us more than 100% and pulling at the strings of our hearts. We all know what it is like to have a family member succeed faster than another, and it is difficult. It is also perfectly portrayed by Leigh and Winningham.Outside of the acting, if you can really keep your eyes on anything else, to fully submerge yourself in this film, you have to listen to the music. While others will argue that it is nothing more than just a secondary ploy to demonstrate the unequal balance between the sisters. I really thought that the songs were what connected these two. There was some equality between them. As I watched this film, and listened to the music, I couldn't help but think that perhaps these two women were one in the same. Think about it. Here you have one, Leigh, who cannot sing, but leads the clichéd singer lifestyle. She is very nomadic, very experimental, and extremely passionate about the craft. While she may not be able to sing exceptionally well, she does harbor this passion that seems to be lacking from the other sister, Winningham. While, on Winningham's side, she has this voice that will pack auditoriums, though she lives a very quaint life with a family and a house. It always felt that Winningham's gift was a burden to her, and she would have rather had the simple life and handed it all over to Leigh … but she doesn't. That passion to perform is relevant in both sisters, which made me feel we were watching the same person just cut in half.The only negative aspect that I felt hurt this film from reaching perfection was the timing. The script was great, phenomenal actually, but there were just moments when I felt that either the direction or the timing was off. The entire plane scene (which was my second favorite of the film) was brilliant, yet a bit far fetched for my belief. It was great to see Leigh completely break down in order to get to her sister, but the zaniness of it all was a bit overwhelming. Also, I needed some pre-information if possible. We had one scene of the sisters when they were young that could have been expanded just a bit. It would have been interesting to see when the two broke off and what really forced the two to choose the lifestyle that surrounded them. The concept of Sadie riding on Georgia's coattails was relevant throughout the entire film, but more could have been expanded on it. It wasn't until closer to the end when I completely realized what was happening in the beginning of the film. Just some small housekeeping would have propelled this film into "favorite" land.Overall, I was shocked and delighted with this film. The final scene of this film, which shows the repetitive nature of life, continues to roll around in my mind. Leigh's performance was exceptionally raw and showcased her true talent. The secondary characters in this film could have been a bit tighter (Axel was very flimsy because I wanted to know him better), but it didn't seem to destroy this picture at all.Grade: **** out of *****

pearl-42 There are such extreme differences of opinion about this film that it has to go into the "Love It or Hate It" category. I loved it and think it is one of the BEST films around, but... definitely not for everyone. There is one song in the movie, the Velvet Underground hit "I'll Be Your Mirror," that could describe the film itself, or even be meant for all of us watching. The movie doesn't tell us what to to think, it reflects who we are by making us feel. The interesting array of opinions about the relationships between the characters proves this. I, for one, quite liked Sadie's singing. Georgia's voice was lovely, but commercial and lacking in feeling. I far prefer the energy and painful expressiveness of Sadie's voice, but then I have always preferred passion to technical perfection.

Rootedlogic This film presents a fairly accurate portrayal of the chaotic, symbiotic environment of the bar band music scene. If you are looking for a coherent, one-two-three plot and are expecting realism at the same time, forget it. You would be missing the point. Having "been there" and "done that", I can affirm that this movie does a pretty good job at portraying interesting and realistic snapshot views of people in this particular music genre. In addition, this film even goes so far as to attempt realistic discriminations between different types of musicians (e.g., between ones who want to just succeed, ones who just want to play, ones who can't get their lives together enough to make it, starving artists, etc.).This film initially may seem innocuous and even simplistic to some casual viewers. I must admit that I didn't get much the first time I casually viewed it. "Georgia" is very layered and textural -- the more you stand back and look, the more you can almost reach out and touch it -- but, as with most true art -- one must stand back and really take a look at it to appreciate the many layers. The layers of this particular artwork is done via multiple, sometimes concurrent, relationships, which intermittently share the foreground and the background with some really great music and various elements of the music scene. There is the relationship between Georgia and Sadie -- of course, the most obvious relationship that maintains precedence, but if you spend too much time on this one, you will miss so much. There is the Sadie-Axel layer; the Sadie-Georgia's husband layer; the Sadie-Herman layer; the Sadie-and the music layer; the Sadie-Sadie layer; the Sadie-drugs layer; the Sadie-father layer; on and on. All these relationships involving Jennifer J.L's character puts a lot of pressure on J.J.L, and I think she brings it about beautifully. I don't find her "overacting" in any scene -- the only "overacting" that is done is done by Sadie, not by J.J.L.J.J.L. has rarely disappointed me in her character portrayals. I have always found her an interesting sort of actress: she does not have that obvious physical "stand out" star quality about her, but more of a quiet, well-played character actress, genuine star quality about her. I think she, along with the other actors in this movie, did a terrific job with very difficult material (about a very unusual and difficult, but interesting, lifestyle), and this movie calls out to me to watch it every time it plays on my satellite service.This movie should not be judged along with "standards". It is a rare piece of filmwork, and should be judged entirely on its own standalone merits.