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 Some fine performances lift a rather ordinary tale of disolving families set in the early seventies. there is a strong and sometimes too concious sense of period about the piece and together with some fairly horrible self obsessed characters, this all perhaps comes across as being a little bit too much of a scathing commentary of an era. There is, perhaps naturally enough, a coldness about the film and little sympathy is engendered for any of the protagonists.But there were some nice observations and shafts of humour and this was certainly one of the more enjoyable and interesting releases during 1998
But there was much I liked about this film. The atmosphere of the suburbs in winter. Signorey's great & looks great. There were some good laughs & some sad moments. Like I said, a good film to watch at home on the small screen.The fact that it is a mature film in an era of infantilism in Hollywood is why it got so many people excited.
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Some films work better on the small screen & when you see them for a second time. This is one of them for me. The film has a slightly claustraphobic feel...too much was shot inside...it felt like an adapted stage play.So much more could have been drawn to create a sense of the period, the music for one, which is lacking.
This film is an intense examination of the effect of the sexual revolution on suburban America. Be prepared for over the top performances by Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver. Christina Ricci's performance as the prepubescent town-slut is elcetrifying. A must see!!! One of my favorites, dark, moody and beautiful. Probably Ang Lee's best film!
