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:

bear | car accident | wyoming | ranch | abusive boyfriend | 

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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

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 September 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Un amor, dos destinos

Filming Locations:

Ashcroft, British Columbia, Canada

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bart the Bear Jr (or little Bart) appears in this movie. He is owned by Doug and Lynn Seuss who also owned the original Bart who died in 2000. Bart and Bart Jr are unrelated.

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Goofs

In the very next scene it is dark and Jean and Griff are asleep. Jean hears the motorcycle and yells at him. He tells her that the car is done for and offers to take them to South Dakota. Jean tells Griff to just take what she needs, and it shows them filling up her backpack. As the motorcycle rides away leaving them at probably a bus stop, they now have many large bags of clothes with them.

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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

Features Below (2002)

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Soundtracks

Good Woman Bad
(1993)
Written by Pat McLaughlin and Roger Younger
Performed by Josh Turner
Courtesy of MCA Nashville
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Nicely Done, with a flair.

As I write this review, I think of why I actually decided to see this movie. I came to the realization that it was to see Robert Redford, and Morgan Freeman - two top-notch, class actors. That said, along with the fact that I'm not a very big fan of Jennifer Lopez's, I thought the presence of Redford, and Freeman would be enough to enjoy this movie. I was wrong, not that either Redford, or Freeman's performances were nothing less than excellent, but the job done by Becca Gardner was especially wonderful. In fact, in my opinion, she stole the show. Gardner's portrayal of the Griff Gilkyson character was a special one indeed. And yes I must admit, I even enjoyed Jennifer Lopez in this movie. All in all, a very solid movie that I enjoyed so much. And the best part, it was NOT a remake.. thankfully !!