KnotStronger
This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Casey Duggan
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Kimball
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
miriam_garcia_m
I've been a Rickman fan for a long time, I knew about this film, but I never got to see it at the theaters when it was released. Still, it remained for 10 years in my list of "things to do". I saw it today and I'm not the least disappointed. According to current standards, nothing really happens in this film, yet... so much happens. I simply loved it, it's so subtle, it looks so uncomplicated... apparently, still it talks about so many complicated facts of life: growing older, mother and daughter relationship, sexual awakening. I found the atmosphere superb, you do feel the freezing air around you, the white light makes you feel time stands still somehow. I found it highly recommendable and I keep repeating my summary line, why didn't Rickman ever go back to directing?
vikitoria
This started out very bleak... and slow... but once the women leave the room, things start moving and the gist of what appears to be life and how they live it hits you in the head.It's very intellectually done - the grief, lads learning about their sexuality and the curiosity seekers. I was worried that the older lady (Law) would be a menace to her daughter (Thompson), since the younger was dealing with the grief of her husband. She wasn't really. The overall curiosity of death was prevalent, with the older ladies who attended funeral after funeral. Some people deal with death different. I found that very interesting. The boys were such boys - and I'm glad the characters met eventually. It's also well life moved on for the widow.It had a very film noir feel to it. This is not a huge box office show, but somehow I get the feeling everyone can get something from it, no matter the person. It's endearing and a real film about real life. Rickman did a good job for a first time director. I wish he would do more because he has a rich life to tell.Great movie, great for the older kids and parents.
s82110
First I wanna mention the music of TWG by Michael Kamen. I was shocked to find that he had passed away in 2003 from the Academy Awards "In Memoriam". He poetically and gracefully used the simple piano music in TWD, which led the audience go into the alienated world with warm spirit.I have to admit that I bought this film because I'm a Rickman fan. I was just curious about his first & only film directing. It's adapted from the play by Sharman Macdonald, who also worked on the film script with Alan. In 1997's Chicago Film Festival,TWD even "beat" talented Ming-liang Tsai's "The River", awarded with the Golden Hugo.In my opinion, there's no such thing as "win " or "lose" in a film festival. But this fact also pushed me to see TWD.I can't say there's nothing awkward in TWD. The way they edited the film, say, is not smooth enough; it just kept on reminding me that it's adapted from a play. But also, the off-screen voice was well-used in a few scenes. For instance, Alex told the girl Nita about the love between his Mom & Dad(after he found the house seemed to be "haunted"), overlapped with her mom Frances'(Emma Thompson) breakdown on the mountain.
They also perfecly made the opening scene of Mom & Daughter. Mom is walking and cleaning the house; the Daughter stays in the bathroom to keep herself away from Mom's nagging. They dialogued in this way. We can clearly see how they get along. Not too friendly, but caring for each other. You can find Frances grieve over sth, in her private space. Cinematographer Seamus McGarvey("The Hours", "The Wit") was so great that he captured some dignity or beauty of life in his long take. I particularly like the scene when Frances held her mother's hand to climb up the hill. Suddenly her mother revealed some part of her fragility. The wall that she supported with also rubbed her hand, along with her nagging and France's silence, this long-take would be such a memorable moment for this film. The high-angle shot of the bus in the field, what can I say, just tells what I mean of "dignity of life". Two old women took the bus to attend a funeral. You never knew where life is going to take you.It's a story of "4 pairs of people". It's important to emphasize on this form the scriptwriters took. While too many films talked about the loneliness of modern people, TWD walked the other way to present life itself. People in TWD may not really be able to understand each other; at least they have a company to walk on the slippery road.Being as a actor-turned-director(especially a British actor), Rickman gave lots of space for the cast. I hope he can direct more. Some places need to be improved, but still Bravo for Mr. Rickman's heart-warming debut.
Evy
Alan Rickman has made a breathtakingly beautiful, haunting movie that sucks you in and won't let you go until long after the credits have finished rolling. The story centers on four couples: a mother and her grieving adult daughter, her son and the girl who takes a fancy to him, two young teenage boys going through all the troubles of puberty, and two old ladies with nothing left to do but attend funerals. Their stories are intervowen, against the backdrop of a gorgeous Scottish winter landscape, which is threatening to take over and swallow them whole. They all have to find their paths in life, realize what's important and what's worth living for.The pace of this movie is very slow, so granted, it's not for everyone. But if you like your movies bittersweet, with reality seeping out of every pore, then this is a film for you.
