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"Unfinished Life" finally released |
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Written by NED O'REILLY
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Friday, 09 September 2005 |
Here’s a drama with its fair share of comic moments. This is a thinking film, but not terribly deep, with some terrific acting in a sensitive tale of healing old wounds. The release of critically acclaimed director Lasse Hallstrom’s (“Chocolat,” “The Cider House Rules”) film was delayed for some two years, probably so star Jennifer Lopez’s negative media saturation could pass. Lopez is just fine as Jean Gilkyson, a woman who flees an abusive boyfriend with her 11-year-old daughter (Becca Gardner) to the remote Wyoming town she left 12 years earlier. In truth, while Jean is in some ways the central character, the story and the film belong to several others.
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"An Unfinished Life" |
 Entertainment
Art
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom
Written by Mark Spragg and Virginia Korus Spragg
Starring Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, and Jennifer Lopez
Rated PG-13 for some mild violence and language
Released September 9, 2005
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Jean returns to the ranch of her estranged father-in-law Einar (Robert Redford), pleading for a place to stay until she can get back on her feet. Einar, who blames Jean for the car accident that killed his son, reluctantly allows her to stay after meeting the grand-daughter he did not know he had. The girl shares her late father’s name (Griff, short for Griffin) and that bond only grows as he teaches her ranching and a little family history. Jean takes a job at a local diner run by Nina (Camryn Mannheim – who deserved more screen time), so she’s not around for the bonding between her daughter, her father-in-law, and aging ranchhand Mitch (Morgan Freeman). Mitch has run the ranch with his friend for decades, watching Einar lose his son, his wife, and his livelihood. The final, and most critical plot thread involves Einar’s having given up drinking a year or two earlier after he was too drunk to save Mitch from being mauled by a bear that had attacked one of the ranch’s calves. With Mitch incapacitated, the two have developed a nurse/patient relationship that involves morphine shots, cribbage games, and a lot of the love/hate banter often associated with old couples. The scene in which the naïve Griff assumes aloud that Einar and Mitch are gay is priceless. “I always did think you had beautiful hands,” Mitch quips to his old friend and the two of them gently laugh off the girl’s suggestion.
And if you think this sounds a lot like the relationship Freeman played with Clint Eastwood in “Million Dollar Baby,” keep in mind this film was actually shot first. Redford is also a much more thorough actor than Eastwood, using vocal subtlety and facial expressions to convey a broader range of emotions. Einar is also damn tough, as shown in a scene in the diner where he punches out a couple of abusive, much younger customers.
Gardner is great as the granddaughter, holding her own in scenes with Freeman and Redford and out-acting Lopez as her mother. J-Lo may be just too pretty for the part, accented by the strappy tanks she wears throughout, even though the men all wear multiple layers. (What season is it anyway?).
Along for the ride are Josh Lucas as the local sherriff who strikes up a protective love relationship with Jean, Damian Lewis as Jean’s abusive boyfriend Gary, who shows up in time to bring the story some closure, and Bart the Bear, a large grizzly who spends a few weeks drawing the attention of the principal characters, especially Mitch who seeks redemption, not revenge. Powered by AkoComment 2.0! |
