Reviews

This could have been a much better adaptation of the book and a better remake of the original. that would have required to be at least a three hour movie but since we are now accustomed to long films it would not have been hard to make.

the characters in the film lack depth as they did not truly reveal the nature of the brutality and the slow changes that the original subject had ungone with his extraordinary experiences. the surrounding characters are basically props to the main one in order to move the story along.

if you have the opportunity read the book before you see the original 1973 film as you will appreciate it much more. even though the '73 film left some things out it was still better than this one. maybe one day someone will remake it again and take the time to adhere to the original story in order to have the viewer appreciate the life of this man.

I stumbled onto this series via Netflix and i am sad i did not catch it when it was being currently broadcast. however, since i am catching up i am binge watching and fully enjoying this.

granted, this is taking place in London and, being that i am the United States, i find the information regarding the times, conditions, etc. to be interesting. not that there wasn't such conditions here in the states as my grandmother, a nurse, could have attested. the naïve desire to help that is established in the first episode that jenny possessed is gradually eroded with the hard facts of life in the east end. as she admits to herself and others, she has never been exposed to the sights and conditions she works in and, through time, learns to navigate through the trials, superstitions, traditions of the times.

the other nurses seem to be true representatives of the kind of nurses that my grandmother described to me. there is the professional side of their duties but, in reality, they were young women just beginning their lives, wanting to enjoy themselves even in the confines of a religious house.

above this all, the sisters of the house show that they have learned to balance their devotion to g-d as well as the facts of the life that their community lives and contends with. they try to remain as non judgmental but, being human, they are subjected to failing to do so consistently. their humanity they exhibit within the parameters of their faith system is amazing and it makes me feel that i wish there were more examples of it in real life and not just in good pseudo-nonfiction.

if there is anyone who would like to experience the lives of women living together, both secular and non-secular, working under very trying and sometimes deprivation from what we now consider the ordinary and expected, watching the series. i can hardly wait until i catch up with the new episodes since i am just entering season 3.

this film was very interesting from both a storytelling view as well as a peek at military life. when a man or woman becomes an officer, the behavior of his/her family is always scrutinized. what shines through this story is the belief that you love a person with all the highs and lows.

lange's performance of what appears to be a bipolar woman handling the stress of the military life is very accurate. people handle stress in different ways and hers is with her living out personal desires and dreams.

jones shows unflinching devotion to his family as the glue that holds it together. he juggles his wife's erratic behavior with stoic calm while at the same time attempts to help his daughters cope with the challenges of a new move, their mother's antics and their own coming of age.

it has been mentioned that the daughters make a viewer feel sorry for them. on the contrary, children are critical of their parents without having the maturity to understand why they do the things they do. that is what this film is about: maturity.

the surrounding characters are believable and provide the main characters the ability to play off their substance, whether it is a megalomaniac of a commanding officer or a forever forgiving wife of such a man. as I said previously, it is the maturity of the characters that show how each handles the changing situations presented to them. it is well worth the watch.

after the unexpected death of his wife, and attorney (leo) struggles to accept his new role in life as a single father, attorney, father, and substitute mother for his four year old daughter, dafne. realizing that his daughter, who witnessed the death of her mother, is struggling just as hard as he is, he makes a decision to do what he needs to give his daughter time to accept what has changed both of their lives. the film shows various levels of how society and the legal system views alternate lifestyles: from the legal system and the way absent fathers are treated to the violence and hatred demonstrated by homophobic individuals. it also draws the portrait of how far a parent will go for the love of a child as well as how children need to work out their own emotions in their own time. a very touching film that, prior to watching, was not sure that it would be an effective story. but, i was very surprised at the subtle way the characters were able to evoke emotion from the viewer without falling into stereotypical story lines. my only suggestion is that it would be best to be watched on dvr or disc as the subtitling is very smooth in its keeping up with the dialogue but can sometimes be a little fast.