An Unfinished Life (2005)

Desperate to provide care for her daughter, down-on-her-luck Jean moves in with her father in-law from whom she is estranged. Through time, they learn to forgive each other and heal old wounds.

Director:

Lasse Hallström

Writers:

Mark Spragg, Virginia Korus Spragg

Stars:

Jennifer Lopez, Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Redford	...	Einar Gilkyson
Jennifer Lopez	...	Jean Gilkyson
Morgan Freeman	...	Mitch Bradley
Josh Lucas	...	Crane Curtis
Damian Lewis	...	Gary Winston
Camryn Manheim	...	Nina
Becca Gardner	...	Griff Gilkyson
Lynda Boyd	...	Kitty
Rob Hayter	...	Deputy
P. Lynn Johnson	...	Shelter Supervisor
Byron Lucas	...	Motorcycle Rider
Trevor Moss	...	Griffin Gilkyson
R. Nelson Brown	...	Kent (as Rnelsonbrown)
Dillard Brinson	...	Gnome Owner
Jason Diablo	...	Customer #1

Storyline

To escape an abusive boyfriend, without announcing her plans in advance, Jean Gilkyson takes her young daughter Griff to the Wyoming ranch of her father-in-law, Einar. Jean and Einar are disaffected, as he blames her for the death of his son in a car accident. Einar is taking care of his friend Mitch, who was attacked by a bear, and Einar does not know that he has a granddaughter. While Mitch heals and forgives the bear, Einar also changes his feelings regarding Jean, finally understanding that accidents happen and accepting her and loving Griff.

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Plot Keywords:

camera focus on female butt | bear | car accident | wyoming | ranch | 

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Taglines:

every secret takes on a life of its own

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Genres:

Drama | Family | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence including domestic abuse, and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the shoot, director Lasse Hallström would keep the cast and crew amused by playing ABBA songs. Hallstrom directed his fellow Swedes in the documentary ABBA: The Movie (1977).

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Goofs

When Jean and Griff are first shown driving away, the car is shown going down a gravel road. Griff asks her mom about a couple of towns when the car breaks down. The next shot is Jean, standing outside on a nice paved two lane highway hoping to see another vehicle. The camera shot shows the highway far into the distance with no sign of a dirt road.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Einar Gilkyson: [talking to raccoon] I heard you interfering little bastards rummage around my yard. I'll thank you for keeping the owls off of my cats.

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Connections

Featured in Comme au cinéma: Episode dated 13 December 2005 (2005)

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Soundtracks

Smooth Talk
Written by Delbert McClinton and Gary Nicholson
Performed by Delbert McClinton
Courtesy of New West Records, LLC

User Reviews

An Unfinished Life

This is a well done movie and I do believe if more people would go see it they would agree. Its a great family relationship movie and Redford as usual is great he can underplay his role and get more out of it than some actors and his relationship with Morgan Freeman is so typical of two old guys tolerating each other. The young girl however steals the movie from her adult counterparts and brings a warmth to her part not seen that often anymore. Jennifer Lopez is good but she is outshone by the others who slowly build up a good family togetherness. Of course then there is a bear thrown into the middle and "Bart" of course is good as he has been in other movies he has been in.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

An Unfinished Life

Filming Locations:

Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$749,000, 11 September 2005

Gross USA:

$8,586,392

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$18,618,284

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miramax, Revolution Studios, Initial Entertainment Group (IEG)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1