original story, excellent dialogue, good acting, overall great

Rating: 8/10 (3 October 2004)

A great movie on the start of a never ending story of human drama. Although the camera work could have been better (camera uses unlogical viewpoints and sometimes the camera could accentuate the mood but fails to). But the dialogue remains excellent and very true. This is not the usual Hollywood dramatics but this could have been real life dialogue. The actors have really made an effort to portray believable characters. Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Tim Robbins are as good as ever but also Marcia Gay Harden who plays celeste. Without her the Robbins character would have been unbelievable. I mean he would have been institutionalised way before this story took place. But by meeting her he could probably cope. They have very similar personalities. Too bad the story doesn't go into her background but it makes you wonder which is even better the knowing. Laura Linney was also great but her final dialogue came a bit out of the blue. Never the less she plays a major role in the ongoing of the drama.' This a great movie that has justly been given many awards! 4,5 out of 5 stars