Judith Randall

At last. A movie with a male character who has complexity, including a really tender heart.

It was like seeing two different movies at the same time, or alternately. Glen Close, who. I think, gives the best performance of her career, leaves no doubt about how impossible and draining it is to be the parent of an adult child, lost to drugs. And Close's agony, watching her daughter fight for sobriety while she fights her conflicting emotions about her daughter's past betrayals, sticks with you. But Mila Kunis doesn't act like someone in the throes of drug addiction and withdrawal,. While her mother is running around, literally, trying to save her child and experiencing great upheavals of anger, then love, the daughter seems pretty laid back and uninvolved about the whole thing. The movie rarely shows Kunis going through the horrors of withdrawal. I guess Kunis's over-the-top ravaged face is supposed to do all the work and say it all. But maybe the fault lies in putting an actor of limited range in scenes with an actor who can play anyone, brilliantly.

A series dominated by a massive amount of red, Shirley Temple curls that go almost to the waist of a 50 year old woman. Nicole Kidman's hair not only demands to be looked at but makes the viewer long to push them out of Kidman's face. It's hard to understand how anyone connected to the series would approve of this distraction. And her hairstyle looked all the more dated next to the other women in the show who all had shoulder length or shorter simple hair styles. I think they were probably 10-15 years younger, as well. Weird. The storyline was odd and slow and Kidman's acting, as usual, soft and passive.

I found the house they lived in the most interesting character. From the exterior, reminiscent of the Great Pyramids, to the interior's juxtaposition of contemporary glass and steel to the soft south seas blue and gold wallpaper. A stunning simple black recessed fireplace ran down the entire 20' wall of the living room, with one long low seating area directly beneath. The contrasts in the architecture and interior design was also reflected by the young wealthy owners and the ancient tradition of servants. And this is where the drama lies. The housemaid would never be one of them, and she saw her future in the head housekeeper, a middle-aged woman who had worked for the husband's parents and raised him but still treated as a servant. Still separate. All the actors were beautiful and interesting and professional, which, along with the ending, made this movie one of the most haunting and memorable movies I've ever seen.

I love this movie because it's sweet and gentle and Lexi looks just like my daughter.

There's a historically feminist scene, probably halfway through the movie, where Susan Sarandon adjusts Tommy Lee Jones's tie, in front of his men, during a heated conversation about the location of the witness. It's a powerful move, because it's flirtatious and sexy and harmless, all at the same time. And it's also, a move that is usually made only by a very confident man, toward a woman. What a statement. Just a couple of seconds turned the tables on the power play between men and women. And Susan Sarandon did it with a natural and playful ease, that only she could. One of my favorites scenes, out of thousands of movies I've seen during my long lifetime. Thank you, Ms. Sarandon.

What I think was the most interesting and amazing thing about this movie was Nicolas Cage's flawless ability to go from comedy to drama, both perfectly done. He is one of the world's greatest actors but because he's done comedy, he's not perceived that way by short-slighted narrow critics. All great actors do comedy and drama, equally well. And he's always fascinating to watch.

It's embarrassing. And the main woman looks puffy, pale, and ill.

Clever, funny, charming, and endearing. But what isn't with Crowe and Gosling?