achingly beautiful

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2005)

All the pieces fit together nicely with this one. What impressed me most is that all the actors seem so at home with their character that it's easy to lose yourself in the film. There is no one glaringly out of place. Same with the camera work and score, it's great without drawing attention to itself. Gyllenhaal especially has a tough job, to emote while his character is supposed to be trying harder than anything NOT to emote. He pulls it off admirably.
Really appreciated the use of setting, too. The happy and playful scenes are outdoors in nature, and the tense and angry scenes are indoors with much harsher lighting.
My one complaint would be the pacing. It moves slowly -- and I think rightly so -- through the first couple of reels, but then doesn't pick up later in the film. I found it dragged a little post-mountain. Although, that could be because there's so much angst and tension that you can't wait for it to be over.
That said, it's a beautiful film that will make your heart ache, and make you want to fall in love worse than anything.