Smart people can dislike this movie.

Let's set aside the "free-love" discussion of how anybody can love or hate any movie and that there are no rules in art, man, and that we should just let it be...

Having said that - I'm always perplexed and amused that when someone doesn't like an "art house" movie (even one with an all-star cast, such as this one - making it a contradiction of sorts), they are often met with an insult to their intelligence.

e.g., "Oh, you just didn't get the beauty and sophistication in this movie." "Go back to your Will Ferrell movies and comic books."

That's just sad. I think that this movie, as one example, tried desperately to be beautiful and sophisticated, but instead felt like it tried entirely too hard. I, and I assume so many others, understood the statements (the cliche, stereotypical statements) that were made about womankind. We saw the pain, the sadness. We were, in fact, beaten over the head with it. With that, and cheesy quotes from the back of an introduction to philosophy student's notebook.

We also saw the interconnectedness of the characters. Not that they were particularly interconnected, mind you. They were really just geographically proximal to each other - as is the case in this Earth we live in. Nurses really do both work a job AND exist as a sister to someone, with a homelife that isn't necessarily harsh, but it sure is more artsy if it is. None of the 9 characters' actions actually affected another character in a significant way -- but we got theat creepy feeling of "hey, I know that character from somewhere... oh yeah, the last scene" that has become the Hollywood standard scam to instantly make a bland movie seem more creative and intellectual (see Crash, Go, and Magnolia). It's really becoming a pet peeve of mine - I mean, if you're going to connect the characters, take some time and do it in a meaningful way - not just by happenstance.

I'd like to think that we can tell when the emperor has no clothes. If I am missing a significant insight to the human condition that this movie offered - let me know. It certainly took itself seriously enough to have offered some moving ideology, otherwise it was just an overdramatic peek at stereotypical vignettes.

I'll credit the actors, as showcased by the single shots, though.