Incredible BORE - WAY overrated movie

Rating: 5/10 (4 February 2009)

This movie fails to deliver on many, many levels.
The first 60 minutes were literally a pain to watch, and its not only me sharing this opinion but my wife thought the same thing.
There is no story-line, whatsoever, until the movie is almost over, there is not captivating plot, no drama, no love, no action for over an hour, literally twitching on our seats to prematurely end this incredible bore of a movie.
Only after about 60 minutes the movie gets "halfway" interesting, about at the time when he presents his new play. The scene with the orphans in the theater was great, movie from there getting a little better - but in my opinion already too late to make this a "good" movie in any sense.
The acting is OK, the filming is OK, but i think the big flaw in this movie is actually the story/writing.
The fact that she (Winslet) got sick in the movie seemed almost forced, very predictable, very obvious.
The minute she started caughing we all knew that she will die, a 100% no-brainer which made this movie element seem forced, maybe just put in the movie to "save" this boring movie with a dramatic ending to make it SEEM good....by using the element of the sick/dying mother and using tears of emotion.
However, the fact that the movie has a sad ending and causes a big fest of tears is not enough to make an otherwise avg. movie/story good, on any level. In this movie it just seemed out-of place, used as a filler, to give the movie at least SOME substance or story where it otherwise failed.
Stereotypical use of emotions is used throughout the movie,but not in a captivating way which would make you want to follow the story - but in rather repetitive and very unimpressing ways.
Kids without a father, not accepting the new friend "as new father"...VERY old concept. Repetitive rejection, rebellion and negative comments by the kids towards the main character in regards to their "dead father". No BIG cinema, but a stereotype we can see in many movies , many other movies where we have the same concept and stereotypes, but then used by complex and interesting characters.
Here, in this movie, it just seems flat, without substance.
At the end it is clear that the movie tries to "save" itself by focusing onto the illness of the female main character - but also here the movie fails. The illness of her is covered in a very sloppy way, too hasty and quick to develop a good, emotional story based around this element.
It COULD have been a good, emotional movie evolving around the mother, her illness, her kids and this friendship...but for being a good "tear drencher" those parts of the movie were just not intense enough, rather "inserted" into what otherwise is a very unspectacular and very boring movie.
It could also have been an interesting movie about him, his attempts to make a big breakthrough as writer of a new play. But it was not.
It could have been a good movie about the main character, a story about the eternal wish to stay a kid forever, a story about dreams, fantasy and the power of imagination. The movie certainly attempted this, but it could not convince in this regards.
It COULD have been a love story, a VERY good love story with the main character involved into a complex relationship....but in this movie it just didn't happen either.
As i wrote above, the movie failed to deliver Drama, Love or Action...and the illness of winslet at the end does not change this and all these important elements are missing in the movie.