Not at all what you expect!

Rating: Null/10 (16 August 2004)

Before going to the show I checked out the comments here on IMDB.com and thought I knew what I was in for. I was wrong.
First off, I won't rehash the plot line here - you can read all about it elsewhere. What I would like to say is that this is a phenominal movie and you really should go see it.
The acting is very good (newbie, Howard has a BIG, BIG future ahead of her), John Hurt is great and Joaquin Phoenix is sexy as ever....
But aside from the good acting (yes the language is somewhat stilted - it's supposed to be 1897 for Pete's sake), the plot and story line are TRULY UNIQUE in an era where movies fall into predictablility!
Although my brilliant husband figured out what was going on pretty early in the flick, neither of us had a clue about the surprise ending! (Although it did explain John Hurt's "slightly Yiddish" accent on the way out to the "forbidden shed"). (Was I the ONLY person in the world who heard it? - OY!).
What I particularly enjoyed was the metaphorical aspect of the movie - yes, yes, call it a moral if you want. Nevertheless, I like a movie that actually promotes THOUGHT and INTROSPECTION (as apposed to movies by Spielberg who have to TELL YOU WHAT TO THINK EVERY SECOND). This one allowed me to draw my own conclusions. And what powerful conclusions they are. Parallels about what is truth. How much truth to hide for your own good or the good of the "many".
My only question is this.....With only a hand full of "original elders" (eight or ten - somewhere around there), where in the heck did all these people come from? There had to be at least 75 people at those tables! Were ALL THE WOMEN PREGNANT for the past 25 years or what?
Anyway, for the thinking movie goer - a great, great movie.