Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Halle Berry | ... | Audrey Burke | |
Benicio Del Toro | ... | Jerry Sunborne | |
David Duchovny | ... | Brian Burke | |
Alexis Llewellyn | ... | Harper Burke | |
Micah Berry | ... | Dory Burke | |
John Carroll Lynch | ... | Howard Glassman | |
Alison Lohman | ... | Kelly | |
Robin Weigert | ... | Brenda | |
Omar Benson Miller | ... | Neal | |
Paula Newsome | ... | Diane | |
Sarah Dubrovsky | ... | Spring | |
Maureen Thomas | ... | Grandma Ginnie Burke | |
Patricia Harras | ... | Howard's Wife | |
V.J. Foster | ... | Distressed Man (as VJ Foster) | |
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Caroline Field | ... | Teresa Haddock (as Carolyn Field) |
Grief, recovery, and human contact. Brian is a great guy - a sweet father, a good husband, and a loyal friend to his boyhood pal Jerry who's a junkie. When tragedy strikes, Jerry tries to help Brian's wife and children cope, and Audrey, Brian's widow, tries to help Jerry kick the habit. Loss and addiction are stubborn. The story starts on the day of the funeral, with Brian appearing in flashbacks. A neighbor's divorce, a dinner party that includes a young woman from the Narcotics Anonymous group Jerry attends, and thinking back to a fire in Brian and Audrey's garage give the story texture. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
Greetings again from the darkness. Very good melodrama from Scandanavian director Susanne Bier. The film is intentionally slow moving ... just like real life tragedy. Although we could have been beaten over the head with the cute as heck kids, the story is actually more focused on the heroin addicted best friend played by Benecio del Toro. This makes the point that strength can come from many sources.
Halle Berry gives her best performance since "Monster's Ball" (yes even better than "Catwoman"). We feel her happiness, pain, desperation and hope. The cute kids are played by an amazing 11 yr old Alexis Llewellyn and Micah Berry (not her real life son). Also strong is Alison Lohman, who just doesn't work enough these days. However the strongest performance is by Benecio. I am not sure if the role was written for him or if he just perfectly captures best friend Jerry. It is most complicated role and requires enormous depth.
I definitely recommend the film thanks to its basis in reality and fine performances and terrific direction. However, I will qualify it by saying that I don't believe it is quite in the class of "21 Grams"