jay dubya

There are a lot of people talking about feeling uncomfortable watching this movie. To them I say, "Ummm...well...yeah, that's kind of the point of the story...not every movie is Little House on the Prairie." This is a well-crafted film about the how the angst of mediocrity, when confronted with true talent, devolves into madness and Maggie Gyllenhaal nails it with her complex performance of a kindergarten teacher/artistic dilettante who directs her passion for the arts towards a little boy who has a preternatural ability to speak beautiful verse like he's throwing rocks. Here she is the feminine and less malevolent version of Antonio Salieri in "Amadeus": she's nurturing, kind, protective, but completely obsessed with Jimmy, the little boy, and goes to inappropriate lengths to show his talent to the world and to satisfy her need for artistic fulfillment and recognition. If you're a mother of young children and can't handle these types of subjects, don't watch this movie. But if you want to see good acting, it's worth your time.