A film I will always keep close.

Rating: 10/10 (12 August 2007)

This film delighted on first viewing and has continued to do so every time I watch it (which is frequently!!). It has so much that is perfectly done, so where to start. There are three strands running throughout and three 'leads' in each story. The main line and that which is most interesting is Nicholson's character  a writer with so many 'nervous ticks' phobias and prejudices both great and minor that they would make a pretty good film just on their own. Nicholson play's them for all he's worth which is considerable. Typical Nicholson but at his very best! The film is really about the blossoming of this Nicholson character goaded and teased in to becoming a 'human being' mostly by Helen Hunt (in her best performance ever for me) and to a lesser extent by Greg Kinnear (also acting at the top of his game). All three stories run concurrently and overlap throughout but each is fascinating and compelling in it's own right. Many things amaze about the film; just as each story can stand and make sense on it's own so each scene stands in own right and is a perfect and complete whole worth watching and thinking about. I'd like to end by paying tribute to the script that is enormously funny and so good that one nowhere finds an inappropriate or uncharacteristic word or phrase. All fits like a glove and of the hundreds of marvellous one liners here's two "come in and try not to ruin everything by being yourself" and "The best thing you've got going for you is your willingness to humiliate yourself" Try and see this movie if you haven't already done so. You'll love it. 10/10