Sean's Reviews

This is without fault, beautiful beautiful. The cinematography is breathtaking alone, but add a love story, the words of Keats and characters imbued with such warmth and wit - the brightest star of Campion's work, surely.

Oh I cried, this is a heartbreaking study of a family cracked & lost, while seemingly misplaced in a foreign place. There was a tension throughout, very strong character development - a stellar cast, this was touching and difficult to watch. I don't know how anyone with a heart could say this is boring, or sloppy! Do you lack any sense of empathy? Was is it all too implicit for you? These reviews boggle the mind. I hope people actually look up movie reviews at somewhere like metacritic and don't trust these user reviews - talk about missing the point!

We had to buy this after seeing this - first class sketch comedy, what all the others aspire to be! Gold.

This is hilarious stuff. Don't have any expectations- it's mad & kooky & subversive.

geez this DRAGGED and was quite unfunny after the first 20 minutes or so. really not worth your time unless I die hard Owen film (as I am, hence 2 stars and not 0.5)

I thought this was better than I expected, the good cast helps a bunch. It's light hearted and predictable, but engaging.

Definitely worth a watch, it really is a mind opener and a very touching story. I was quite moved by the choices these people have to make.

I am slighly biased because I just adore anything that Patricia Clarkson does. Not a lot happens in this movie, and it reminds me somewhat of Before Sunset. It has a real sense of place, a sense of quiet desperation in the main character - the depth that Patricia brings is, as usual, understated and unsurpassed. Highly recommended!

Gosh I loved this film, the people, the setting and the languid touch. The issues explored and the characters we encountered made this a real joy to watch. Melancholic.

Gritty and difficult to watch at times, but I was enthralled throughout. Recommended.

Engaging and suspenseful for the whole family, our 7 year old laughed and laughed at this. A great cast - a timeless classic.

Nothing happens... And it's exquisite to watch. A beautiful, sombre meditation on the vagaries of existing in the margins of modern society. And subtly illuminates just how narrow those margins are becoming in our increasingly intolerant society. It's a bleak picture, but there are glimmers of hope and altruism; and the film does seem to bask in the soft glow of existence for existence's sake. The whole fragile enterprise hangs on Michelle William's beautifully understated 'unperformance'. She doesn't act, she just inhabits this moment in space and time as if it's all she could ever know or be. I still can't believe this film came out of America in 2009, I don't know how they got it made or what tall stories they told to get the money for it. I found it somewhat reminiscent of the equally affecting 'Vagabonde', a 1985 French Film. Maybe this film owes a small debt to that one, and I don't mean that as a criticism.

I'm a noir and neo-noir tragic so I wanted to like this more than I actually did. Nice doom-laden atmospherics but for a story that spent so much time setting up character and motivation, it seemed quick to ditch all that for a few cliche-ridden twists and turns that didn't add up to a whole lot. More surface than substance and just a little contrived and self-satisfied. In fact, the longer I keep writing this review, the less I like it. I would have given it 2 stars, but my girlfriend talked me into 3. If you're looking for premium neo-noir, try: 'After Dark, My Sweet' - 'Before The Devil Knows You're Dead' - 'Blood Simple' - 'The Kill-Off'. Good Luck finding the latter on DVD. And please don't let anyone tell you Tarantino makes good neo-noir; he's an overrated hack.

Quietly observed gem about the quiet things in life that Americans (be it independent or Hollywood) just don't make movies about these days. Also makes the point that writers - the really good writers - are much better at living in their own mind than they are at living in the world. That said, it's not flawless and I would haver rated it 4 stars, but my girlfriend insisted on 5. But Lili Taylor is in it, so by definition that's a 5.