I really wanted to like this movie. I did. I was ready to and I guess I’d have if it hadn’t lasted 126 minutes (whose 26 minutes or more consist about characters being extra stupid and shots being extra slow- making the audience lose any ounce of sympathy we might have built). It is not all bad, but with its premise and actors, it should/could have been so much more.
Let’s go over the premise first and then we will get into the flaws…. Oops. I meant the details.
Bad Things Do Happen to Stupid People
Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) is a “former” alcoholic who was dumped by her husband 6 months ago and works as a cleaning lady. She’s depressed, and not very close to her family (as in her mother doesn’t know about the husband leaving) and is not paying attention to the “mundane” details of everyday life- such as reading her mail.
So she is shocked to find out that the government is evicting her from her house because of $500 worth of unpaid business taxes. Of course she doesn’t own a business, but the she is evicted regardless. The only person who is remotely helpful is the deputy sheriff Lester (Ron Eldard). He helps her move her stuff out, and tells her where she can get legal assistance.
Her legal advisor Connie (Frances Fisher) tries her best to solve things soon, but things get complicated when former Iranian soldier Behrani (Ben Kingsley) wants to relive his glory days in America and he is sick of doing hard labor to get there. When he realizes he has enough money to buy Kathy’s house at an auction at less than half its price, he jumps at it. He moves there with his wife (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and son.
Kathy’s life of course soon spirals out of control as she doesn’t have enough money to pay the motel bill and sees that her house has now new residents- but their family “leader” Behrani has no intention of showing this girl any understanding.
He plans to renovate the house cheaply and then sell it with lots of profit. Kathy’s only “friend” Lester helps her with her residence issues, but he is not exactly a model citizen in letting Kathy drink again- as well as leaving his family behind to be with her.
As things get more personal and complicated for Kathy and Lester, Behrani doesn’t notice how far things will go for all of them….
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So why is it disappointing?
Don’t come criticizing me for being too easy on “mediocre” movies (to most people “mediocre” is either mindless action or romantic comedies) and being too hard on “artistic” efforts like this one.
I am ready to be fond of “less” artistic movies for the sake of entertainment. It is their job to entertain. They may not always leak with genius, but if they make sure we have fun, then all is well at my end.
But you see, when you put Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley together, adapt a novel with a very humane story and get three Oscar nominations, I really expect to feel some things other than depression, contempt (for the characters) and boredom.
I expect to find at least one character who gets something right- and I expect that to be one of the main characters-not the lawyer of the girl who has about 10 minutes of screen time.
Why the contempt for characters? Well- let’s start (yes, there are spoilers!):
Kathy (Jennifer Connelly):
– She is so not connected with her family that her mother doesn’t know her husband left. 6 months ago!
– She is so out-of-it, she hasn’t read her mail. In months.
– As unbearable as your mother is, surely she is better than being evicted, sleeping with a married man, starting drinking again, harassing the not-so-understanding owner of the new house, getting all suicidal….yes, her list continues. Frankly I’d listen to a mother lecturing me instead of all that.
– She doesn’t try to get a better job, therapy or…anything. And this woman has no friends? Seriously? Nada?
Behrani (Ben Kingsley):
– So he is basically a bastard for the 98 % of the movie- not listening to his wife or son, not being understanding to Kathy, hitting his wife once and filling in his son’s head with utter crap. It is more important to impress his daughter’s stuck-up in-laws than to help someone. Oh, then he goes all saint-like when the girl attempts suicide. Lovely. Believable. Right….
The Wife (Shohreh Aghdashloo):
– It is a great idea to run a hot bath to a girl who has just attempted suicide where she could drown herself and leave her alone in the bathroom. No, she doesn’t try to drown herself. Why should she when she can access the woman’s pills?
– I am not even going to question her taste in men- I am guessing she didn’t really have much choice.
The Son:
– Goes from the voice of reason to the stupidest character in the history of film. Wonderful character development, wouldn’t you say?
Lester (Ron Eldard):
– He comes on to a girl when she is at her most vulnerable (and who wasn’t thinking straight before that), encourages her to drink again, leaves his family to be with her but leaves her alone in a country house because his wife is causing scenes, abuses his job to threaten Behrani, shows up at their house to save Kathy, doesn’t listen to Kathy when she is ready to move on…If Kathy’s IQ is well under 90, his is probably lower than 70. 70 was Forrest Gump’s.
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Final Notes
So when you have so many characters acting like idiots, it is hard to feel or root for them. It doesn’t earn any points for the director that he added tragedy for tragedy’s sake.
Adapted from the book of Andre Dubus III by Vadim Perelman and Shawn Lawrence Otto. Directed by Vadim Perelman.
I don’t really have anything against the Oscar nominations of the film though. They were for Ben Kingsley’s acting (Best Actor), Shohreh Aghdashloo’s acting (Best Supporting Actress) and James Horner’s music. The acting was solid, so was the music. Too bad the characters and editing weren’t. And does Jennifer Connelly have to take her clothes off in every movie? Yes, she is a great actress and she happens to be gorgeous. So what?
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Also on Jennifer Connelly:
A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly & Paul Bettany
Jennifer Connelly Trivia: 14 Facts About Actress Jennifer Connelly
6 Hollywood Couples: Gorgeous, Glamorous and Happy Together
Also on Ben Kingsley:
The Last Legion starring Colin Firth & Ben Kingsley