Depth of writing + depth of acting = layered movie

Rating: 10/10 (2 October 1999)

This well written and well acted movie (upcoming nominations for screenplay, best actor and possibly best actress??) is a wonderful example of a multi-layered movie. Hours after leaving the theater you are still stumbling upon new layers - and amazed to realize that you ARE, in fact, still thinking about the movie.
In the first half hour, you believe that this is another pretentious indie-style film filled with too-obvious stereotypes. By the end of the movie, you are surprized at how real all the characters are, a mixture of stereotype and true life. Writer Alan Ball seems to realize that all of us can fit into a rough stereotype, but that there are very real limits to this.
You are well into the movie before you are AWARE of just how engrossed you are with the people and the story.