First, I would like to say that Debra Winger's performance is superb. Having had a relative undergo brain surgery and then rehab, I know that Ms Winger got it all so right it was almost painful to watch.
And the last section was excellent (not in terms of what took place) but it showed what it's like to be a bystander/victim, to be suddenly caught up in events that you can't understand and all you can do is wait and hope. It also showed the shortcomings of live TV, with the reporter repeating the same words over and over again - not conveying any information, just intent on avoiding dead air. The coverage of London subway bombings was the same, with an endless loop of firemen in their HazMat gear and a distant shot of the destroyed bus.
So what didn't I like? Well, it's more what wasn't there. I know it's hard making a film about real people who have access to real defamation lawyers if they're so minded. I just couldn't believe that four teenagers and a single mother, living in cramped conditions with limited finances, never once screamed at each other or stomped off and slammed doors or stayed out too late or got drunk or any of the things teenagers do. The five actors playing the children did an excellent job but there was a lack of conflict, thus a lack of drama.
And why is the film so coy about the whereabouts of the father (or fathers) of the children? I assume that, if Ms Anna had been widowed, that would have been mentioned, just adding to the tragedy. So either she's divorced (at least once) or she was an unwed mother. Either way, why not tell us? It would just have added to the sense of her courage and stamina that she managed to raise four children on her own.
Oh, and the scene where all the people line up to give Ms Anna their sick leave? Maybe it really happened that way but I doubt it. How did all those people take the time off simultaneously to hand over their forms? Who was minding the store?
The fact is, ordinary people can be heroes and still be human. Maybe Ms Anna really is as she was portrayed in this film, but the film would have meant more if she and the other characters had been allowed to be, well, human.
And the last section was excellent (not in terms of what took place) but it showed what it's like to be a bystander/victim, to be suddenly caught up in events that you can't understand and all you can do is wait and hope. It also showed the shortcomings of live TV, with the reporter repeating the same words over and over again - not conveying any information, just intent on avoiding dead air. The coverage of London subway bombings was the same, with an endless loop of firemen in their HazMat gear and a distant shot of the destroyed bus.
So what didn't I like? Well, it's more what wasn't there. I know it's hard making a film about real people who have access to real defamation lawyers if they're so minded. I just couldn't believe that four teenagers and a single mother, living in cramped conditions with limited finances, never once screamed at each other or stomped off and slammed doors or stayed out too late or got drunk or any of the things teenagers do. The five actors playing the children did an excellent job but there was a lack of conflict, thus a lack of drama.
And why is the film so coy about the whereabouts of the father (or fathers) of the children? I assume that, if Ms Anna had been widowed, that would have been mentioned, just adding to the tragedy. So either she's divorced (at least once) or she was an unwed mother. Either way, why not tell us? It would just have added to the sense of her courage and stamina that she managed to raise four children on her own.
Oh, and the scene where all the people line up to give Ms Anna their sick leave? Maybe it really happened that way but I doubt it. How did all those people take the time off simultaneously to hand over their forms? Who was minding the store?
The fact is, ordinary people can be heroes and still be human. Maybe Ms Anna really is as she was portrayed in this film, but the film would have meant more if she and the other characters had been allowed to be, well, human.