Mary Hunter

Jeremy Allen White captures Springsteen as well, I think, as anyone could, including the music. The scene with the therapist is astonishing, and I'm grateful to Springsteen for allowing a hard look at depression. I enjoyed the camera work, especially the aerials. I was not aware of the time going by, and had bring myself back when it ended. I'm happy to see the more inclusive credits, which are a reminder of what a complicated process movie making really is.

This film, as a window on the South, seems as important as To Kill a Mockingbird. The treatment of Black people is equally true to the time period, and as a native Southerner, I quite enjoyed the sound of the regional language. No one should presume that Idgie and Ruth's relationship is sexual--their appreciation for each other is above all that. Jessica Tandy and Cicely Tyson are the elegant, wise anchors for a story tenderly told.

The central character is a birder, and ornithology figures in her crime detection. Facts about various birds are very cleverly woven into the story, and they give her a wonderful worldliness. I quite enjoyed the falcon's view of the exterior of the White House. As with any good murder mystery, any number of people could have been responsible, and in the end, the real criminal isn't revealed until you reverse engineer the plot. And the plot has a lot of twists which are, in the end, plausible. It's complex, it's quirky, it has liberal elements of humor, and it went on exasperatedly until I didn't want it to end. Bravo!

It's important to be reminded of how complicated these situations are. I thought it was a reasonable representation of how these things come about. Painful to watch, but important to understand. I recommend this film.

Several things made this movie less successful than it should have been. Three very fine actresses, but the chemistry was off. The story was a bit difficult to believe, as Chrissy, played by Laura Linney, seems so much younger than the Kathy Bates character who was her closest friend before the poorly defined event that caused their separation. I'm sorry but I didn't really enjoy this film.

For about the first third of this movie, I was ready to leave. The story had kind of a shallow start, as if it was trying too hard--excessive amounts of foul language and what seemed like overacting, etc. It got better as the main character began to think more deeply about her situation, and by the end, I was rooting for her. Without giving it away, I will say that the ending was affirmative. With the proper combination of seriousness and humor, it looks at the issue that all women, whether we realize it or not, have to wrestle with -- this ingrained societal expectation that we become a wife and mother--that we should seek this role, and regard ourselves as failures if we do not achieve it. I wish I had known then what I know now, at 73. I strongly recommend this film.

Shallow, overly long, squanders the talent of most of its stars, with the exception of Cate Blanchett. The glorious Meryl Streep is barely present. Please do not approach this film as a comedy. Present-day news is funnier than this, and equally depressing in its implications. Don't waste your time watching this film.

Includes a remarkable amount of inside access to the company's deliberations and mistakes as well as its intention. Hard truths about the economics of manufacturing.

A beautifully filmed period piece about the loss of humanity in the struggle for success.