I really wanted to like it but...

Rating: 6/10 (25 January 2005)

With such great actors (What a cast) and a great book, I really had high hopes for this film. I think though that Mr. Eastwood encouraged his actors to overact way beyond what was necessary. Yes, what happened to Dave was tragic, we can tell that just by looking at him. But Mr. Eastwood managed to turn a lot of the characters into caricatures, which I didn't like. The usually fantastic Laura Linney basically was rendered into a dragon lady stereotype. Tim Robbins couldn't have possibly said victim more, unless he was wearing a sign around his neck.
Beyond the cliché heavy script, the camera work was dull, and there was nothing much to move this beyond a two-dimensional cautionary tale, supposedly about redemption.
A director is supposed to show, not tell. Mr. Eastwood should have shown more and told less.