BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

HeadlinesExotic Boring

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Ana_Banana What this film was really missing was a real turnout to explain a playwright's boredom with all the good things he couldn't enjoy. Or a real, Allen-like neurosis (but that is overdone), perhaps of the psycho kind.Unfortunately, the intelligent dialog and the good cast can't really make it memorable. From the way the story is told, the viewer becomes unsympathetic towards the main character (and it's nothing wrong with that), but the latter's motivation is thin at best, and that's wrong and makes him a spoiled whining nerd. Which most real writers and real men aren't - hopefully.Well, it's disappointing, but it still might win an award, the Have a Great Cast and Dialog and Still Ruin the Film award.

vstoskus Perfect example of a movie that should not be judged by the average rating it receives from viewers. People are apparently terrified of exploring their feelings, their decisions, or their lives if they rated this 4.6 out of 10. With no qualifiers, I give it a 10. Where & when can one explore one's self? Certainly not in schooljails where the teachers themselves are unlikely to have ever gotten to know themselves. Authenticity, the ability to be oneself, is totally lacking in this most vital institution where kids are supposed to get prepared for life. Here is a movie to help focus on the aspect of our lives that is left out of the curriculum--to question one's choices, to find meaning, to discover love, to learn from mistakes. Most people will not bother but will continue making the same mistakes over & over again. Bravo to the producers & everyone connected with this film for giving us something way above the standard fare. EXCEPTIONAL!

Suzanne Licht Multiple Sarcasms Timothy Hutton gives a great performance of a man who is tired of his work and married life, and is driven to work out who he is by writing a play. It is a process that is riddled with angst, his creative self attempting to emerge in spite of the inevitable obstacles, in the form of his wife, who he fears "doesn't get him," to his guilt about striking out for himself in an authentic way as possibly harming his gifted and appealing daughter, his job as an architect, which ceases to satisfy him creatively. His unkempt, "just gotten out of bed" look, complete with five o'clock shadow, hair with a will of its own and rumpled clothes give a physical presence to his discontent and yearning for something more. At times, there are surrealistic scenes, reminiscent of "The Singing Detective," (which are inspired, and for me some of the best moments of the film) where he re-writes interactions that had painful ramifications for him, e.g. his argument with his wife while they were visiting her family for Christmas, and his well-intentioned but maladroit attempt to come to his daughter's aid during a crisis at school. The other actors give natural and resonant performances, including Dana Delany with her cool, porcelain sadness as his wife, and Mira Sorvino, the wise, funny and vulnerable best friend (an iconic representation of every man's "anima"), India Ennenga as the precocious and lovable daughter, and Mario Van Peebles, playing against his usual type, as his gay friend (he gives a monologue that is so effective that it would be a good audition piece). Stockard Channing was perfectly cast as the agent, industry and worldly-wise, funny and charming. It is an ode to Manhattan as well as a right-brained, intuitive look into a man's struggle to become his authentic self through self-expression. At times he appears childlike, selfish, depressed, even crazed, and yet he is doing what he has to do to make life bearable. This brave gem of a film presents a classic view of the struggle of a creative person, highs, lows, absurdity and revelations. The images captured by his daughter and superimposed with artfully free cursive reminded me of some of the work of Corita Kent, projected into a new medium, for a new century. The music was well-chosen, beautifully performed, fit the narrative and emphasized the emotion and themes.

haggar My wife and I just couldn't muster the energy and will to watch a movie about a man who has everything (wife, daughter and job), and is in a rather enviable position overall. And his problem is... well, we couldn't figure out. He's bored? Doesn't "like his life"? So, let's make a movie about it, shall we?The premise to this movie is so preposterous, that his audience may be left completely unsympathetic to the main character, or even less sympathetic to the whole enterprise that made the movie possible.The saving grace of this movie is the good directing - there's a pinch of comedy to give a genre direction to the movie, but apart that, the characters seem rather genuine. Sadly, the whole plot is stillborn and worthless.