Reviews

This is a Christian message movie that can be viewed by anyone who has ever felt disappointment, especially in self. The beginning is a bit uneven as the characters are introduced and the events are set in motion. Donna D'Errico comes across as quite unpleasant and might make viewers want to turn the movie off. This film seems to be two movies blended into one; yet they both would have been stronger had they been developed as separate films. Character development is scant and it is left to situations to inform the viewer as to who they are and what they want. This a slow-blooming film, with a very heartfelt and uplifting ending. There are some cinematic devices (killing off a character; characters having a misunderstanding) and some loose ends, but overall the message is one of hope. Donna D'Errico gives a particularly strong performance with other good performances by Greg Evigan and Lisa Sheridan. Viewable by teens to adults. One of the subplots is about alcoholism.

This could have been a taut, tidy little thriller had it been around two hours in length. By making it mini-series length, there is the possibility of exploring characters, milieu, mores, time period, culture, and we do get a bit of that. But mostly we get a lot of Nicole Kidman stomping around; scenes that feel rushed with Hugh Grant, and exploitive views of Matilda de Angelis unclothed. Is all this to tell us the rich are different? But they are not, by this story. This story plays out in trailer parks and suburban tract developments, too. Are we to think the central couple played by Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman love each other or are invested in their life together as a couple? Is their son the central point upon which the story revolves? It's a little of everything that adds up to not much of anything. Any fan of real crime will get more food for thought from any of the many documentaries out there now. The odd emphasis on peripheral characters who are then dropped when their little arc is over is jarring. The court room scenes are laughable. The two bright spots in this are Donald Sutherland (who really climbed uphill here) and the adorable little Edan Alexander. Overall, a waste of time.

This isn't a movie for people who have barely survived abuse (of any kind) who have not also experienced at least some resolution to their grief. It's too intense for that. The story moves along slowly, with migraine-inducing depictions of the pressure cooker environment of trading. The scenes that are purely human interaction are not particularly satisfying, neither in content nor in execution, no doubt a purposeful choice of the director, and it is clear to the audience that there is something profoundly wrong with Mr. Tait; it is painful to watch him suffer not only in the flashback scenes but in the present, too. Much is revealed and some is resolved at the end of the movie. There is a touching interaction between Mr. Tait and a young South African doctor who tells him something revelatory. What this doctor says is as much for David Tait as it is for all who have suffered and who believe there is no love for them in the world because they have been told, falsely, they do not deserve it. The dysfunction, abuse in several forms and the behaviors of the people who would have you believe they are normal are all delivered with truth and realism.

Thrillers are easy watching as long as the set up is skillful. This fails out of the gate because of zero chemistry between Ms Ryder and her supposed boyfriend Max (John Gallagher Jr.) She plays exhausted, he plays exhausting, and that would be okay but since they are supposed to be romantic partners, where is the sexual tension? Absent. The performances are all individually good (Brianne Tju is a real standout) but they seem disconnected to one another. Winona Ryder's odd girl persona is given too little to do (and no realistic motivation given her lack of any realistic connection to her supposed boyfriend) and the ending, while mildly interesting, comes after far too many dull scenes. Rosemary's Baby, this isn't.