Racing Daylight (2007) User Reviews

Interesting, but confusing

[mauvemoonlight · 5/10 · 11 July 2012]

This is a rather unusual film - which seems to be about reincarnation and ghosts.

It starts off rather interestingly - with a character named Sadie Stokes, a woman I would guess to be in her mid-40s. Sadie seems to be a rather lonely person, apparently shy and with no friends, despite the fact she's lived in the area her entire life.

Sadie is very much in love with a man named Henry but too shy to even speak to him. Henry is played by David Strathairn - who has the most beautiful brown eyes framed by gorgeous black eyebrows - I think I have ever seen. I was never clear on exactly what Henry's character does for a living - possibly a mechanic.

Sadie seems to work in a bookstore as near as I could tell and lives with her grandmother, who is severely senile (hiring someone to stay with the woman during the time she works.) But, perhaps Sadie has lived before. She begins to have what are either flashbacks, hallucinations, memories or time-traveling experiences. It seems that in a past life she was a woman named Anna. That all of these people have lived before and been involved with each other is the theme of the film.

As it turns out, Anna and a man named Harry were madly in love with one another back during Civil War times. However Harry was killed, perhaps, this is never made clear. At any rate, Anna married his cousin, Edmond -who was also madly in love with Anna.

After that, things become even less clear. The film fails to follow a linear storyline, and we appear to be shown different versions of what happened to these people.

Fascinatingly weird journey

[sbdavis-941-600473 · 7/10 · 4 January 2011]

I, too, registered with IMDb so I could respond to the first reviewer's analysis. With all due respect, I think this person misunderstood the film. I found this movie to be delightfully quirky--just like the main character. And that's the point of the film. The plot is as fragmented and schizophrenic as she is. If you are looking for a traditional story with a linear plot, this isn't it. But if you can do as the character herself suggests--let yourself go and enjoy the insanity--it is terrific. It's really not that hard to follow the plot. I like the fact that the story is told from different perspectives that are all linked through their own insanity and eccentricities. And maybe "insanity" is too strong a word here. All of us are weird/crazy in our own way, and I think that's what the film is trying to say. It is a funny, poignant, witty glimpse into the odd life of an odd woman. And in the end, all the pieces come together and make sense...mostly. Sure, there are some unanswered questions and ambiguity. But isn't that just like real life? It's not a 10, but it is worth seeing.

A beautifully moving love story.

[ToniHunterOne · 10/10 · 13 September 2012]

Nicole Quinn has written a hauntingly beautiful love story that transcends time and space. Racing Daylight has an unusual opening with frenzied music playing over the quiet photographs of homes and places in Cedarsville going back four or five generations. Cedarsville is a quiet observer gently protecting the resident's history and their secrets. Sadie Stokes returns to Cedarsville to take care of her aging grandma; they are the last two surviving Stokes in Cedarsville. The refrain is: There have always been Stokes in Cedarsville. Very early we learn that Sadie has always believed she would go insane. She has been experiencing hallucinations, but she tells no one preferring to just let it happen. Sadie discovers that it is freeing to not fight insanity. Sadie is shy and lonely and would like to reach out to a childhood friend, Henry, who always seems to be around when she needs him. One day Henry tells her of a very old letter he found tucked into the wall of a shed on her property. When she reads it Sadie discovers it was written to Anna a Stokes ancestor. Things begin to change for Sadie upon reading the letter. Her hallucinations are becoming interactive which makes you wonder are they hallucinations or is she being possessed and pulled out of time by the spirit of Anna? Except for the chaotic music in the opening you'll find the music is beautiful floats along with the babbling brook, buzzing insects and summer songbirds you can almost feel cool afternoon breezes as you walk along with Sadie in her travels. The characters are wonderful and funny, especially Henry, and they help to tell Sadie's story. Just when you think you have Sadie's story figured out... There are many twists and turns in this 300 year old ghost story. I will be adding this to my personal collection.

Not a "confusing, schizophrenic mess"

[ms_heza · 7/10 · 29 December 2009]

I registered at IMDb just to respond to another's comments about this film. The previous reviewer (from Hong Kong) is missing something. I'm not sure what it is (maybe he was playing solitaire while the film was playing) but he really didn't understand a lot of obvious things about this film. Personally, I didn't find it confusing at all. On the contrary, I thought it was great, understandable and fun. It's got some hilarious moments and I laughed out loud several times. There are some unanswered questions but they're not that kind that have to be answered in order for the film to work.

This isn't a blockbuster so if one has high expectations, they're liable to be disappointed. But, it doesn't make sense to come into anything with expectations anyways, because they're entirely subjective. :D

Odd but entertaining

[CinBaddd · 7/10 · 2 January 2014]

I just saw this movie last night. It was odd and strange but I kind of liked it. It's not really that hard to figure out what's going on. Sadie is either going insane and thinks she's Anna Stokes, a descendant of hers from the Civil War era or Anna's spirit is taking Sadie over and it's left up to the viewer to decide which. The only part I didn't understand was did Anna get murdered? And if so, who killed her? Was it Edmund's mother? I didn't fully understand that part. In some peoples' past reviews they have mixed things up. One person wrote that Harry got killed but he didn't...they told Anna he died in the Civil War so she married Edmund while she was carrying Harry's baby but Harry wasn't dead...he came back and he and Anna ran off together. And one person wrote that Sadie lived in Cedarsville her whole life, but she hasn't...she came back to take care of the grandmother. The cupboard where the letter from Anna was found was very mysterious so u don't know if Sadie is going insane or if Anna is a ghost possessing her. Another interesting part about the movie is that at first it seems like Henry thinks that Sadie is a weirdo but then you see things from his perspective and realize he's just as strange as her.

Entertainingly funny and cute

[somally2494 · 8/10 · 21 March 2011]

This movie was mildly funny and very cute. Sadie's character reminded me of a teenager in love when Henry was around. Melissa Leo and David Starthairn gave excellent performances as the lovers lost in time. I will say it was a little quirky movie. I did not know what to expect going into this movie. Afterwords, I found to love this movie. Especially David Strathairn's character(s). At first I thought Sadie was the silly, sort-of-insane one, but as the movie reached the ending it turned out Henry was the one talking to the audience and he was the weird, shy guy. Jason Downs also did well as Edmund. I felt this movie would be a good date movie and one that may require a good description of the movie before watching, because one may get confused while watching. The movie was a little confusing with the Past-Present thing. After completely watching this movie, I will have to say I love it!

Metaphysical Romance

[bettina-3 · 8/10 · 24 July 2012]

Once you understand Racing Daylight is a metaphysical romance, not really a ghost story, it becomes a simple, lovely little gem of a movie; quite easy to follow. It is about a group of people who inhabit the same space in two different times. Melissa Leo's Sadie returns to the home of her childhood to care for her bedridden grandmother. This people of the town have, as she is told often enough, 'always lived here'. The town seems to be what some people call a thin place. Lost and lonely Sadie begins to move in and out of her time and that of her civil war ancestor, Anna.

The story is lyrical and romantic, told through exquisite performances by Melissa Leo, David Strathairn, Giancarlo Esposito and a superb supporting cast. Racing Daylight does come off as a little stagy at times; the sets and cinematography are basic, almost dogme-ish. While I suspect some of the spareness is due to budget constraints, some of that choice is central to director Nicole Quinn's vision: the framing, sets and costumes convey the fluidity of time.

Racing Daylight was a pleasant surprise early on a sleepless morning.

A confusing, schizophrenic mess

[Gordon-11 · 30 April 2009]

This film is about a woman who falls in love with with a man, but her love story mirrors that of her ancestor.

Well, that's what I think the film is about. "Racing Daylight" is a complete mess. After watching the film, I actually have no idea what it is about. There are three segments in the movie. The first shows Sadie going crazy because she thinks she is someone else. The second shows a young man who is crazy because he sees non existent people; while the third segment shows another man who seems to watch the evens as a bystander. Things are so poorly explained, which is fatal for this film. It appears that Sadie has gone back in time, or she imagines herself to have gone back in time, I do not know. Some may think it is romantic to have love that transcend time, but in "Racing Daylight" this idea is so poorly executed that everything just becomes confusing, pointless and chaotic.

The only redeeming feature is Melissa Leo's great acting, but it is certainly not enough to save "Racing Daylight" from being a total disaster.