Reviews

Unusual script showcasing the skill and fitness of hugely talented screen heroine and mama lion, Naomi Watts. The film does not deserve such negative reviews. Watts pulls off a 21st century mom handling a crisis in the way we all live now - on the phone. The pacing and suspense are there. Give it a try.

I'm glad I don't pay much attention to reviews, because this is a very good movie. The writing, acting and pace are strong. The lead actor ably carries the whole movie. It may not be high budget, but the locations make that not matter much. The action moves smoothly and the suspense is tangible. So glad I watched.

Apart from that, how brilliant is Rachel Brosnahan? This is one of those suspended need-for-facts indies. There are good characters and suspense, well worth laying aside the need for linear plot-building. And very brilliant lead. Compelling character.

Frances McD's amazing yet wholly natural ability to mesh with this world communicates it to us seamlessly. The real-life characters accept her and share themselves with her - and of course with us - in a very real way. Frances allows us to fall in love with them as naturally as her character does. And as naturally as they fall for her. The addition of the Stathairn character is a brilliant add to Fern's story that shows how clearly we get to see what he, sweetly, misses. ((I won't add a spoiler here.) It makes me want to see them in more work together. This is a treasure of the American story.

Amazingly not a valentine to Fellini, this strange film invents and fluently speaks its own language throughout. It is pure storytelling - never veering into hero worship, it stays with the story of this young, fascinated woman on her peculiar journey of discovery. It manages to extract some of the more dazzling and compelling images from Fellini's films, particularly not to say emphatically, Giulietta Masina in La Strada and weave it facilely with the character's "real" time experiences. (How did they do that?!) I expected the worst but instead found it romantic and lighthanded, at times delightful. Anyone who goes to this film in search of parenting wisdom, will likely be disappointed. We are - refreshingly - shown her upbringing as a fait accompli without moralization, or in Fellini-like fashion. The film is the opposite of prescriptive.

Very lovely work.

Many of the reviews disliking Caroline as the host fail to take the whole show as it's intended, in a spirit of fun. Both are proper English upper crusty culturally precious cariacatures. In fairness, Piers is as over the top as Caroline. No harm done. There is some repetition on the design themes, but show me any series like this that isn't repetitive. It's beautifully shot, too, by the way. I found both hosts upbeat and, at times, hilarious. And the homes were, true to the show's title, extraordinary. I was looking for a follow-up version. Hope there is one.

Some of the reviews are way too harsh on this one, possibly a reflection of the audience for wildly low-quality scripts being produced these days. Denzel Washington is one of the greatest actors ever to grace film and often raises the caliber of a piece and the other actors - and he does it remarkably well in this movie. Colin Farrell's character emerges and arcs beautifully as a reflection of Denzel's. This very real story deals with the issues of race and civil rights in the most personal way I've ever seen - from inside the life and mind of a strange genius. It unfolds brilliantly and the direction seems careful - even loving. I was enthralled from beginning to end.