Sublime is all I can muster

Rating: Null/10 (8 September 2004)

This movie was near perfect for me. I am not an expert on film, i.e. I do not have a degree in anything remotely to do with film. However, I watch a lot of them and this movie is amazing. I have yet to see anything on film about the beauty of life portrayed better than this movie. The dialogue was exquisite. Every line mattered. Nothing was left to chance and the result was a feeling of floating through it much like death must have felt taking the role of a human.
Marcia Gay Harding had a couple of scenes and the standout speech she gives to her father of why he need not concern himself that she was not the favorite was such a valuable lesson that the entire movie was worth the trouble just for that. Unbelievable. And to me every performance and every conversation was equally profound. I don't think I can watch this movie without sobbing for joy/sadness; just the emotion or tangle of to express life and death.
What better way to show power than to be quietly confident not questioning your own thoughts or words the way Death must speak. This same wisdom was mirrored by Anthony Hopkins' character and made the beautiful dance of admiration and fear both characters displayed toward one another until inevitably only love remains.
This is the kind of movie to see several times.
Do yourself a favor and make sure you are in the correct frame of mind to appreciate this, meaning, just sit down and relax and let the movie do its magic for you.