I can't readily find fault with this movie despite being fairly critical usually... It had me hooked within the first minute and didn't let me go throughout the movie!
The characters are gritty but believable and the characterization by the two lead actresses is flawless for most of the movie. The cinematography I found to be gorgeous with a rustic and brittle edge to many of the screen shots!
The slow revelation of the histories involved in the two lead women's lives shows a deeper, more tangible side to who and why they are the people they are. Some of the flashback sequences are slightly dislocating but this doesn't seriously detract from the plot. The timing of these revelations is well thought out though and we start to realize that the first question we need to ask of anyone is what their past is that has made them who they are...
It challenges a good few precepts about femininity as well along the way but this is secondary to the relationship dynamics of the psychological mother-daughter relationship that is setup here.
It asks some deep questions about the meaning of our relationships and our purpose in life that doesn't let go right to the end. This movie doesn't hold back from any of the capricious nature of life and the consequences that it often throws in our life paths. It also shows the failure of people to deal with this on a humanistic level... often resulting in shattered and wasted lives. The violence (both emotional and physical) depicts well the struggle people have with dealing with each others 'violations', towards each other.
I'd wholeheartedly recommend you see this movie! It will have you captivated from the opening sequence of the the suicide of her cell mate that Jenny sleeps through and then awakes only to then carelessly steal the last cigarette from the dead woman's body as if this is somehow a daily occurrence to the final Four Minutes that are the summation of all that Jenny is as a human being...
The characters are gritty but believable and the characterization by the two lead actresses is flawless for most of the movie. The cinematography I found to be gorgeous with a rustic and brittle edge to many of the screen shots!
The slow revelation of the histories involved in the two lead women's lives shows a deeper, more tangible side to who and why they are the people they are. Some of the flashback sequences are slightly dislocating but this doesn't seriously detract from the plot. The timing of these revelations is well thought out though and we start to realize that the first question we need to ask of anyone is what their past is that has made them who they are...
It challenges a good few precepts about femininity as well along the way but this is secondary to the relationship dynamics of the psychological mother-daughter relationship that is setup here.
It asks some deep questions about the meaning of our relationships and our purpose in life that doesn't let go right to the end. This movie doesn't hold back from any of the capricious nature of life and the consequences that it often throws in our life paths. It also shows the failure of people to deal with this on a humanistic level... often resulting in shattered and wasted lives. The violence (both emotional and physical) depicts well the struggle people have with dealing with each others 'violations', towards each other.
I'd wholeheartedly recommend you see this movie! It will have you captivated from the opening sequence of the the suicide of her cell mate that Jenny sleeps through and then awakes only to then carelessly steal the last cigarette from the dead woman's body as if this is somehow a daily occurrence to the final Four Minutes that are the summation of all that Jenny is as a human being...