Things I Never Told You

As some directors wear their influences on their sleeve, so does Isabel Coixet but with enough style and originality that you enjoy noticing. Though we've seen stories such as this many times, we rarely get away without feeling ultimately manipulated to the gills. Things I Never Told You actually takes the uncommon stance that the audience can decide what to feel based on their own experiences and their own aesthetics. No John Williams scores swelling over touching imagery and no lingering shots of teary unions with lovers, children, pets, or parents.

The range of bizarre characters and the nearly flawless performances by the finest of indie film actors (and Andrew McCarthy of all people) place this film in a class of rarely distributed features that rent like crazy. I highly recommend this movie to anyone.