Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000)

Director:

Rodrigo García

Writer:

Rodrigo García (writer)

Release Date:

4 October 2000 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Their faces only begin to tell the story.

Plot:

An anthology of five loosely connected stories dealing with a variety of very different women in dealing with their own life problems...

Plot Keywords:

Dating | Loneliness | Lesbian | Depression | Pregnancy

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win

Cast

Glenn Close	...	Dr. Elaine Keener (segments "This is Dr. Keener" and "Fantasies about Rebecca")
Cameron Diaz	...	Carol Faber (segment "Love Waits For Kathy")
Calista Flockhart	...	Christine Taylor (segments "Goodnight Lilly, Goodnight Christine" and "This is Dr. Keener")
Kathy Baker	...	Rose (segments "Someone For Rose" and "Fantasies about Rebecca")
Amy Brenneman	...	Detective Kathy Faber (segment "Love Waits For Kathy")
Valeria Golino	...	Lilly (segment "Goodnight Lilly, Goodnight Christine")
Holly Hunter	...	Rebecca Waynon (segment "Fantasies About Rebecca")
Matt Craven	...	Walter (segments "Fantasies About Rebecca" and "Love Waits For Kathy")
Gregory Hines	...	Robert (segment "Fantasies About Rebecca")
Miguel Sandoval	...	Sam (segment "Fantasies About Rebecca")
Noah Fleiss	...	Jay (segment "Someone For Rose")
Danny Woodburn	...	Albert (segments "Someone For Rose" and "Love Waits For Kathy")
Penelope Allen	...	Nancy (segment "Fantasies About Rebecca") (as Penny Allen)
Roma Maffia	...	Debbie (segment "Love Waits For Kathy")
Mika Boorem	...	June (segments "Love Waits For Kathy" / "Goodnight Lilly" / "Goodnight Christine")

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements, sexual content and language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | Dolby SR

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | France:U | Germany:12 | Norway:7 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Lacy Street Production Center - 2630 Lacy Street, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Avnet/Kerner Productions

Trivia:

A Braille book that Cameron Diaz's character reads is "One Hundred Years of Solitude". Which was written by the director's father Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Quotes:

Nancy: What does your husband think about this?
Rebecca: I don't have a husband.
Nancy: Show me your ring finger.
[Rebecca shows Nancy her left hand]
Nancy: Are you a lesbian?

Touching and funny- the perfect fit to talk about women and how time is mean to them

Some questions remain without a plausible answer: why did THINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER go direct to cable TV in the US? I don't know and I'm still angry about that, since it has a great cast and was very well received in Cannes. Fortunately, it was received a limited release here in Brazil, where it was a kind of art-house hit during the time of the year when only blockbusters have their place in the sun. The secret of its success here is not hard to understand: audiences who were tired of Hollywood crap found a small, quiet dramatic comedy with a good story, some heart-breaking moments (and some very funny ones, too) and terrific performances. This is the kind of film that touches everyone, even the coldest and most serious person, making them laugh and feel deep emotions. Despite its division in five stories, all of them excellent (except the part with the lesbian, which was too small), this film is carefully paced, helping us to understand each character's emotions. And each story has an interesting link to the other.

If I had to choose my favorite part, I would have to think. The Dr. Keener story is sad and quiet, the one with Rebecca is the most thought-provoking, while the dwarf story is touching and funny, and the sister-sister story brilliantly closes the film.

If you haven't seen this yet, watch it now. There are not many good films with "women" as the main subject, but this one is one of the best I've seen. It has an eye for detail, it makes us think with its reflection about what women are nowadays (I loved Cameron Diaz guessing about what made her sister's friend committing suicide). And there are great actresses which seem to fit the role perfectly: Glenn Close, Cameron Diaz, Amy Brennemann, Kathy Baker, Holly Hunter, Calista Flockhart and Valeria Golino. I hope Rodrigo Garcia, son of famed writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, makes other great films like this.