The film focuses on Audrey (played against type by Halle Berry) and her former husband’s best friend Jerry (Benicio Del Toro). Del Toro comes from the wrong side of the tracks and is a recovering heroin addict. Berry is a grieving widow desperately searching for some amount of balance and sanity in her life. They find it, whether they admit it to themselves or not, in each other. It is at this point where the plot becomes highly predictable. Anyone well tutored in film will be able to tell you how it ends by at least the halfway point of the movie.
Let us be clear, that does not make it a bad movie. The performances are top-notch and the directing is artistic without shoving it down the viewer’s throat. Watching Halle Berry try to contain her anger and grief while still keeping her household intact should have earned her some sort of award. The same can be said for Del Toro’s character, who attempts to clean himself up so he can be there for Berry but does not always succeed.
The problem is that the film becomes hard to watch after the first hour or so. If you have ever been to a wake or visited someone who is deep in mourning than you have some idea what I mean. Those that feel compelled to buy the DVD will have the pleasure of feeling that raw sadness again and again.
The special features on the film are almost unnecessary. Of the seven deleted scenes, many of them simply take a moment and drag it a little further. It is understandable why the filmmaker took them out but showing them to the viewer is almost pointless. There is nothing crucial in any of them.
One gets the impression that the production company felt compelled to tact on the special features just to make the film more marketable. After all many consumers are not going to be running out to pick up a DVD about death and mourning the first day it comes out.
This film was made for a select few. For those that have just lost someone close to them there is no doubt that it will wet your tear ducts. Those people should rent it, not buy it. Doing so would only trigger the feeling of pain and loneliness unnecessarily. There is no need to put yourself through that much less pay to do so.
Powered by AkoComment 2.0!
Entertainment
Art
Special Features
