Unschuldig verfolgt

Here's yet another nod to composer, arranger and musician/performer Pat Metheny (sans the Group, as was incorrectly identified in another review). On this soundtrack, Metheny is accompanied by an unidentified chamber orchestra (percussion, violin, harp, flute, viola, cello, horn, bass, clarinet and the talented Gil Goldstein on organ).

Mostly variations on the title track, these melodic interpretations are quite eloquent (as one would come to expect from both Metheny & PMG), but arranged such that they never overtake the scene in which they are scored. Metheny contributes his own brilliant lead acoustic guitars, as well as piano and keyboards, with an overall combined feel of his previous Secret Story and Beyond the Missouri Sky releases.

A warm, introspective journey, this set of 28 tunes (6 less than a minute long and another 10 less than 2 minutes) are well-crafted and are worthy for a listen on a Sunday morning with coffee, in front of the fireplace with a nice bottle of wine or a drive in the country, esp. for those in the midwestern US.

When I finished this film, I was sure that it ran over two and a half hours. In reality, it was only 125 minutes. That reveals something about the pace. If you can imagine a worm burrowing through granite, you have the idea.

Actually, the story was a good one. The problem was the screenplay and the direction. This is a story of Alice Goodwin (Sigourney Weaver) a city girl who has moved to the country so her husband could try his hand at farming. However, this is no Green Acres. Alice is having difficulty coping with country life and her relationship with her two children. One day she is minding a friend's children and leaves them playing with her own children momentarily to put on her bathing suit. Upon returning, she discovers one of her friend's little girls missing and after a desperate search finds her face down in the pond. Subsequent to this tragic accident, Alice is accused of child abuse by another child who claims she molested him in her duties as school nurse. The two incidents together turn the whole town ugly as they assume she must be guilty. The story is an in-depth character study of Alice and her struggle to cope with both her guilt and innocence. The guilt is her feeling of responsibility for the little girl's drowning and the innocence is the knowledge that she is not a child abuser.

Usually I enjoy complex character studies with deep conflicting emotions, but this one left me exhausted. This is not because of the story, but because of the script and the presentation by Director Scott Elliot. Far too much time was spent on scenes that weren't really interesting or relevant. The dialogue often seemed inconsistent with the characters, especially in Howard's (David Straithairn) case. The lawyer was made to look like a buffoon. Having seen Arliss Howard in a number of other films, I know he is a capable dramatic actor so I have to assume this was the director's interpretation of the character.

Sigourney Weaver has received much critical acclaim for this performance, but I found it to be somewhat uneven. She was superb in parts, especially the parts where she was playing the strong woman trying to hold it all together. However, she seemed to struggle with the vulnerable parts, as if she wasn't comfortable with the character. I realize that part of the point was that Alice wasn't comfortable in her own skin and used a lot of defense mechanisms to cope, but Weaver seemed unnatural and forced in these scenes. She seems to have a lot tougher time playing weakness than strength. In that regard, Julianne Moore's performance was much better. Her breakdown scene in the woods was compelling and heartrending.

David Straithairn was well cast as the self-sacrificing and supportive husband, a role with which he is well familiar. However, he too seemed uncharacteristically tentative. When veteran actors have so much trouble giving confident performances, one has to wonder if there was a disconnect between the actors and the first time director.

Overall, despite some good performances and a solid story, the whole project just didn't come together and dragged ponderously from scene to scene. I rated it a 6/10. For patient viewers only.

"A Map of the World" is easily one of the most honest films I've ever seen. The merits go specially to a very fine cast and a clever, well written screenplay. Sigourney Weaver really shines here, in an Oscar caliber performance, as Alice Goodwin, a woman who is not afraid to show what she is feeling. She is married, has two young girls, lives in a farm and works at a school nursery. Her life seems calm, but happy, until a terrible accident happens, followed by a sad mistake, and her life falls apart.

"A Map of the World" had everything to be a bland and conventional film, but it is not. I have to say that I don't give any merit to the direction- this is indeed the main problem. The director doesn't captivate the audience, and doesn't seem to care about that. There are many slow moments and scenes that could have been cut. But "A Map of the World" is a rarity- a very good film with mediocre directing. Who is the miracle maker? Sigourney Weaver, surely. She shows passion for acting and an incredible strength as Alice Goodwin. I can't imagine anyone else playing Alice, because Sigourney is perfect building her character. The Oscar was gone, but I put Weaver on my list of snubbed stars this year. But she doesn't work alone- Julianne Moore is here, and when she is in you can expect much. I'm a fan of Ms. Moore since I've seen her in "Short Cuts", and now that I've seen "Magnolia" (if you've read some of my reviews you know how much I praise "Magnolia") I'm starting to adore this lady. She shines even in slapstick comedies as "Nine Months"... There's nothing she can't do!

Getting back to "A Map of the World", I have to say that I appreciated very much its screenplay. It was written with strength, trying to escape of the clichés even in courtroom scenes. There are many beautiful messages the film has to pass and it should be admired for this. It shows that everyone commits mistakes, more than one time, and that is why we are ordinary people, with qualities and flaws. We should learn with ourselves and with the others. We should believe in ourselves and try to cope with our mistakes. The film has messages like these to learn, and many others, resulting in a complex study of people in conflict.

I truly recommend "A Map of the World", despite its flaws. Watch it for Sigourney, Julianne and the messages and forget the weak directing. It is a worth seeing.

Strong performances by Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore highlight this involving and, at times emotionally draining film about the boundaries that are inherently a part of our lives, and the limits of those boundaries, both in how much we are able to give, as well as how much we can take. `A Map of the World,' directed by Scott Elliott, examines the confines of the parameters within which an individual must live, and the finite capacity of any one person to endure stress that exceeds the specific limitations established for that individual by nature. And it's not a matter of one knowing one's limitations; rather it is a matter of knowing how to cope with the results, once one has been driven past the breaking point into a world that can no longer be viewed in black and white, but only in shades of gray-- that point beyond right or wrong or what is politically correct; the point at which nothing matters but survival-- how to live in a world that can have so much to offer, while being so relentlessly unmerciful and decidedly unforgiving at the same time.

Transplanted from the big city to a farm in Wisconsin, Alice and Howard Goodwin (Sigourney Weaver, David Strathairn) are attempting to make a go of their own dairy business. But it isn't easy. Howard is immersed in his work, while Alice, in addition to taking on the full time responsibilities and pressures of raising their two daughters and maintaining the household, also works as a school nurse. And though Alice likes her life, the constant strain of keeping her own life on task, as well as seemingly everyone else within her sphere of existence, begins to take a toll on her.

With no respite from the daily grind, Alice becomes increasingly exhausted and exasperated. She finds some solace in her close friend, Theresa Collins (Julianne Moore), but what she really needs is some time to herself; some time to clear her head and regroup. Instead, an unexpected summer tragedy strikes the Goodwin and Collins households, which damages Alice's much needed relationship with Theresa. And as if that isn't enough, further trials and tribulations are about to descend upon Alice-- one of those curves life has a way of throwing at you when it's least expected, or needed. And it's something that will test the limits of Alice's capacity to endure, more than ever before.

Working from a remarkably insightful screenplay by Peter Hedges and Polly Platt (adapted from the novel by Jane Hamilton), director Elliott presents a genuinely honest film that takes an in-depth look at what it often takes just to `maintain' on a daily basis, and the very real issues and situations that a person like Alice is apt to encounter. From the very beginning, Elliott establishes the credibility of the film by creating an atmosphere and setting that is entirely real-- so real, in fact, it will be more than a bit disconcerting to many who will so readily be able to identify with Alice and relate to her situation. And, having effected such realism, Elliott then moves on to deliver a thoroughly engrossing, emotional drama, which he renders with great care and sensitivity.

Elliott achieves success with this film through an obviously keen understanding of the material, the story, and the characters and their corresponding attitudes and reactions to given situations. And he keeps it `real' throughout by eschewing any superfluous melodrama or sub-plots, the likes to which a film like this in lesser hands could easily lend itself. In the final analysis, Elliott knows what he wants to convey, and furthermore, knows how to do it by exacting the kind of performances from his actors that really sells it.

As often happens (too often, in fact), the extraordinary performances in this film were inexplicably overlooked (as well as the film itself) and/or ignored. Sigourney Weaver gives a commanding performance as Alice, arguably as affecting and effective as the work that earned Hillary Swank the Oscar this year for her portrayal of Brandon Teena in `Boys Don't Cry.' This is quite simply some of the best work Weaver has ever done, and it's a shame that she has not enjoyed the kind of acclaim that would accompany such an accomplishment in a perfect world. Which adds some irony to the whole thing, inasmuch as part of what this film is attempting to convey (and does so, successfully) is that we do not, in fact, live in a perfect world. All that aside, this is a memorable portrayal, in which Weaver exhibits a phenomenal depth and range of emotion.

The field was strong in the Supporting Actress category this year (Angelina Jolie received the gold for `Girl Interrupted'), but Julianne Moore's performance here stands alongside any of those honored with a nomination for their work. Like Weaver, Moore faced the challenge of creating a character that is so mainstream and `normal'-- one of those everybody's neighbor or the-clerk-at-the-store type of roles-- that the real difficulty lay in making it look so natural, which when successfully effected, makes it all look so `easy.' Which is exactly what Moore did with her portrayal of Theresa. And-- again, like Weaver-- it's a performance for which she has never received the deserved acknowledgement. Suffice to say, it's terrific work, and a big part of what makes this film so emotionally stirring.

Also effective is David Strathairn as Alice's self-absorbed husband, Howard, a man suffering from a terminal case of tunnel vision. How good he is here, in fact, can be measured by the feelings of disdain he manages to evoke toward his character, which at times, is quite substantial.

The supporting cast includes Arliss Howard (Reverdy), Louise Fletcher (Nellie), Sara Rue (Debbie) Nicole Parker (Sherry) and Aunjanue Ellis (Dyshett). An ardently thought provoking film, `A Map of the World' invites a sense of introspection and reflection; a film that's definitely going to make you do some thinking. 9/10.

Stage director Scott Elliott had his hands full with this story, and while it has its moments, overall his choices didn't really add up to a winner. Some people have sleighted this movie because of how "quickly" the trial is taken care of near the end, but in fact the book is the same way, and for good reason: the trial is not what the story is about. Unfortunately, as with so many book-to-film translations, the poetry of the prose and thus some of the deeper meanings are lost. Some of the changes between the film and the book work effectively to condense dozens of pages into one idea (the "wall of baby pictures" in the jail helps quickly convey Alice's changing relationship with her unit mates), but other changes only serve to hammer home a point that was made with much more subtlety in the book. (Did we really need angry graffiti on the side of the Goodwin's house? WE GET IT -- the town didn't like them!) Pat Metheny's original soundtrack was beautifully melodic, as he usually is, but it didn't fit in with the feel of the movie, and surprisingly, it didn't have much of the Midwest sensibilities one would expect from a composer from Missouri. Nonetheless, this movie will at least be worth a video rental, especially if you are a Sigourney Weaver fan and want to see her doing something other than an _Alien_ pic. While it took me awhile to warm to it, her portrayal of Alice in the end is stunning, and much more complex than anything else in this movie.