Things I liked and didn't like about this film . . .

Hello,

Well, I can't believe I am typing this. I'm not the sort of person who posts in Internet forums very often. But I saw this movie (Griffin and Phoenix) last night, and I have been thinking about it all day. I just feel as though I need to get out my thoughts on it!

I can't say I loved absolutely everything about this film. But the mere fact I am still thinking about it means it has affected me in some way, and that's what good art is all about.

First, what I didn't like. I found some of it to be very unrealistic. Yes, yes, I know it's a movie, but these niggling things distracted me from the flow of the story. The main thing I am talking about here is that Griffin and Phoenix were both (supposedly) in the latter stages of their lives. Yet they both seemed so, um, healthy-looking. Even when Phoenix is so sick that she needs to be hospitalised, she still looks better than most folks ever do, and can still manage to walk herself down to Central Park.

The other thing I haaaaated (and I know this won't sit well with fans of the movie) is the Christmas tree scene. I just found it so corny. (This might be a cultural thing. I am an Aussie, and many of us just don't buy into that schmaltzy stuff.) Plus, if I were in Phoenix's shoes, this would have only served to remind me that I wasn't going to make it to the real Christmas. I would not have been so thrilled by the moment. I think the director/writer should have hunted for something else to insert here. But that's just me!

OK, now here's what I loved.

I thought both actors were magnificent in this. Amanda Peet blew me away. Until this film, my main movie-memory of her was in that film with Bruce Willis (The Whole Nine Yards, I think it was called). I wouldn't have thought she could play a role like this, but oh my, I thought she did a great job. I have so much more respect for her as an actor now. I loved Dermot Mulroney in it as well. I thought the understated way in which he played Griffin was fantastic. If he'd been melodramatic about it, we would have been right back in Corny Town. His portrayal was spot-on, I thought. He's easy on the eye too - though, as I've mentioned, I think he looked a little too vital for someone with end-stage cancer.

Another thing I loved: All through the movie, I was dreading the death scenes that I was sure would be included. I was dreading them not from a sadness point of view, but from a melodrama point of view. I was pleasantly surprised when there were no such scenes, and I thought that water-tower thing at the end was just so poignant and just so utterly perfect.

I loved the clock scene. I thought it was so clever and moving . . . the symbolism of the clock (time running out). I also thought the symbolism of the characters' names was very clever.

And the final thing I luuurved about this film: some of the script writing was superb. There's that line where he says something like "Let's drink some wine or make love; let's just get on with it." (Can't remember exact words.) Then, in another scene, Griffin chastises her for the pram-trashing incident, saying "that's not the answer". And she says something like "The problem is that you think there is an answer." Nice.

Anyway, that's all I have to say. Hopefully this will clear room in my head for some thoughts on other topics!