The summary--unbelievable, overwrought, and overbearing-- applies to both the film and to Joan Allen's character. This is a film where the plot dictates everyone's actions, instead of vice versa. Joan Allen plays a bitch who is nasty to everyone, including her four lovely daughters. She is detestable and totally unsympathetic--except to some movie critics. Almost everything in the film happens according to movie convention, except for a surprise near the end, which I found ludicrous. (P.S. I thought Kevin Costner was good. I think he made me laugh without squirming on one occasion, though I can't remember which, at the moment.)
Review of The Upside of Anger
