Fine directing and acting, but predictable

Rating: 6/10 (9 February 2006)

Decent but not worth all the hoo-hah, particularly in terms of the writing. Was very predictable and therefore I couldn't get too attached to the characters and wasn't very moved. Seemed to rely too much on the scenery and music to bring out the emotion, and it didn't work for me. Also, I was annoyed by the mumbling of the character Ennis -- I missed about half his lines. Seems to me there is some strange bias for this film because of the combination of the "controversial" subject matter (which I think doesn't seem all that controversial to younger generations like me) combined with a sense of Americana sentiment that is supposed to draw a tear, but definitely didn't for me and I usually cry at the drop of a hat.