I've always admired both Newman and Woodward since first becoming aware of them as a child in the 60s. I was sad when Newman passed on 12 years ago and sad to learn of Woodward's dementia now going on in her later years. They were both very talented and charismatic.
This movie is just blah, but at least has an intelligent mature theme throughout, unlike most popular movies of the past decade that are geared to child-minded adults.
To summarize the storyline, Rachel is a very lonely, needy woman who decides not to resign herself to being that way the rest of her life, and the ensuing disappointments that decision brings, until the movie's end when we're left with the optimistic hope that it's still not too late for her.
***The one nagging thing about this movie that I've already spent too much time trying to figure out and is so frustrating since it didn't have to be so obtuse and unexplained during the scene is this: who was in the photo that Nick showed Rachel as his way of explaining why he couldn't marry her and have a baby after she had expressed the desire to do both with him? I couldn't even make out if the person in the photo was male or female, young or old. If it was Nick's twin brother who had died as a child, then it would've looked like he did as a child in the flashback memory that Rachel had earlier in the film of the night the brother Steven died. She had talked to Nick briefly about it then, although it was at night so it was dark and Nick's face was only shown a few times and not very clearly. And if the photo was of his twin brother Steven, how/why is that a reason for Nick to never marry and have children - possibly because the children might inherit whatever illness Steven had died from?
In closing, anyone who only enjoys action adventure or comic book movies (as it seems most audiences do nowadays) wouldn't last the first five minutes of this movie. The performances of all key players was excellent. Newman's first directing attempt was commendable but he was much better in front of the camera.
6 out of 10 / Grade C
This movie is just blah, but at least has an intelligent mature theme throughout, unlike most popular movies of the past decade that are geared to child-minded adults.
To summarize the storyline, Rachel is a very lonely, needy woman who decides not to resign herself to being that way the rest of her life, and the ensuing disappointments that decision brings, until the movie's end when we're left with the optimistic hope that it's still not too late for her.
***The one nagging thing about this movie that I've already spent too much time trying to figure out and is so frustrating since it didn't have to be so obtuse and unexplained during the scene is this: who was in the photo that Nick showed Rachel as his way of explaining why he couldn't marry her and have a baby after she had expressed the desire to do both with him? I couldn't even make out if the person in the photo was male or female, young or old. If it was Nick's twin brother who had died as a child, then it would've looked like he did as a child in the flashback memory that Rachel had earlier in the film of the night the brother Steven died. She had talked to Nick briefly about it then, although it was at night so it was dark and Nick's face was only shown a few times and not very clearly. And if the photo was of his twin brother Steven, how/why is that a reason for Nick to never marry and have children - possibly because the children might inherit whatever illness Steven had died from?
In closing, anyone who only enjoys action adventure or comic book movies (as it seems most audiences do nowadays) wouldn't last the first five minutes of this movie. The performances of all key players was excellent. Newman's first directing attempt was commendable but he was much better in front of the camera.
6 out of 10 / Grade C