How to ALMOST create the best movie of 2003....
...and then SMASH it up into little pieces, and then stomp on them.
(SPOILERS CONTAINED)
I wanted so much to be blown away by this movie. It had all of the ingredients, and up until the vomiting scene, was developing nicely. Unfortunately, the director decided that he didn't want any major movie awards anyhow, and decided instead to remain "indie" by slowing the second half of the film followed by a tortuous crawl to a disappointing ending.
Denis Leary's character completely fails as a foil, not by his lack of acting, but by the lack of the screenwriters at providing him with ANY useful contribution to the film at all.
The worst part was getting dangerously close to the ending, and thinking that the director would try to end the movie on a happy note, the family sickness brought the household back together again, and the wife wasn't having an affair AFTER ALL, it was just a silly misunderstanding! Luckily, the director didn't commit cinematic suicide and take that route. Unfortunately instead, he chose to reveal the affair in the most bland and disappointing final scene ever.
If the affair had been confronted earlier in the movie, the film could have progressed into a very dramatic insight into how an established family could have dealt with the issue. Could it have ended in a happy ending? Possibly. But even if not, the revelation and resulting resolution would have added depth and substance to the rest of the story. Instead, the director gets stuck in a cycle of constantly reminding us of the indecision of the father due to the love for his family, keeping the life he has tried so hard to build, etc. OK, we get the point after the first hour, get on with it!
Rant to cinamatographer, writers, and editor...how did none of you screen this movie, decide at some point to cut the useless and unnecessarily long puking/hospital scene, bump the revealing morning to the middle of the movie, and develop the conflict? You could still have ended the movie on a question. Did you run out of money? Were you that far past your deadline that you decided to just dump this intriguing story at the end of 100 minutes, instead of making a 120 minute tearjerker/blockbuster? Did you really realize the Oscars and Academy recognition were within reach, but choosing to avoid the limelight and remain "INDIE" you just flushed the film down the toilet instead? Is the reason Mr. Rudolph has never directed another work after this film is the crushing realization that he had it all in his hands and threw it away?
This entire movie plays out like the story of an incredibly gifted child, who everyone is sure ill grow up to be a headline making intellectual, but grows up, fades into obscurity, and ends up working in a warehouse for the rest of his life, and dies forgotten and alone in a small one room apartment on the wrong side of town, surrounded by reminders of what might have been.