Favorite and Least Favorite Segments

Diana's story was INCREDIBLE. Robin Wright Penn, what a marvelous actress. Her story still is painful to think about and watch, and she made the scene memorable. I am disappointed she was ignored during oscar time.

Maggie's story was also a wonderful ending to the film and deeply sad and upsetting.

Diana and Maggie's stories stant apart from the rest.

I would say I enjoyed Lorna's as well, but it comes in a distant 3rd place.

The rest were ok, but not great. I could have skipped them. I really did not like the holly hunter one, although she is a great actress. The one with Amanda Seyfried also seemed pointless.

This was an interesting idea and film, but only 2 or 3 of the stories were amazing.

This film showed in Baltimore just recently - I assumed it was a new release but it just came to The Charles well after it had been released on DVD.

I got the DVD and have seen the film once more with my wife and I watched all the commentary. The commentary influenced retroactively my appreciation of the different scenes.

Initially I liked "Maggie" best. I just couldn't stop crying after that vignette -- incredibly touching and beautifully done. I liked "Lorna" least, just because the character is so offensive in all of her interactions. I liked the one in the hospital bed second-best. I always thought "Samantha" was excellent - the writing is incredible - it picks out the way parents play games with their children better than anything I can recall seeing on stage or screen - and I think Amanda Seyfried does a magnificent job in the scene. I disliked "Holly" intensely; like "Lorna", I didn't like the character: "My mouth is dry" - ass****! go get yourself a drink!! "Holly" was my least favorite scene, although I appreciated the camerawork - I thought while I was watching it (and trying to see if there were any cuts - I was starting to figure out that they were all one-ers) that the scene in the backyard, where the camera stays on the porch and the director fails to do the obvious zoon, was brilliant.

Now I think I like "Lorna" very much. Maybe this is because I saw Amy Brenneman in the discussion on the DVD and she is so charming and funny that she sold me on the segment. Whatever, I like "Lorna" now. And I think that Wm Fichtner is unbelievably good as a deaf man. I think the scene were he pulls her by the hand from room to room trying to find a place to be alone - the soundtrack is awesome at that point, and there is a feeling of deafness about that part of the soundtrack - beautiful!! My wife, when she saw it with me, assumed the actor IS deaf! How could a hearing person do that good a job of imitating the way deaf people sound to those of us who can hear? Unreal. Brilliant. And the scene takes us for a while into his world without our really knowing it! Unbelievable.

I still like the one in the hospital bed, Kathy Clark and Joe Mantegna! I wasn't moved as much by "Maggie" the second time -- I still like it a lot, but it's the surprise that delivers the power, and without the surprise it's really good, but not shattering, as it was for me the first time I saw it.