Things Behind the Sun

I've seen. Slow and painful this story gets into the psyche of the victims unlike most other stories treating the same subject. The stories and writing style of Joyce Carol Oates came to mind through the intentionally slow, methodical pacing revealing each layer of the painful retelling of the victims' stories.

Arquette gives a brilliant performance as does Cheedle and Stoltz. Gabrielle Mann comes off a little too 'waah, waah, Mr. Sensitive author' but there's an honesty that rings true in his performance and works nicely with the others.

I think the only way this movie could improve is to perform it on stage. It has an intimacy that could resonate much more effectively then on the screen. All in all, I highly recommend it.

I tend to prefer character-driven movies with strong plots. In that sense, this movie score highly. Kim Dickens turns in a passionate performance as a self-destructive women trying to reclaim her soul after it was taken from her in an adolescent rape. Don Cheadle turns in yet another great performance. Wow, what a great actor. Eric Stoltz has little screen time, but he does a lot with it. Again, what a great actor.

This movie suffers a little on the technical front. There are scenes that could have been edited out because they failed to enhance the story line. At times the direction seemed to be a lackluster. Neither of these hurt the movie that much, but it does not quite reach its full potential. It is still worth seeing. I enjoyed it.

this movie is a real gem.

the story revolves around a young female singer who is starting to become famous and get some notoriety and comes to the attention of a rock and roll magazine.

the song that is making the charts is a song about the rape of this women. the woman, shelly played by kim dickens does not remember this act that changed her life so drastically.

coincidentally, a reporter at the magazine, owen, played by gabriel mann, knows shelly from back at the time of her rape, and is assigned to get s story on sherry.

things behind the sun is a movie of such deep feeling, heart, tragedy, and unconsciousness that it seems amazing that the performances could be so stellar and clear and the direction so perfect.

the story is one that really gets one thinking on a lot of different levels, and while i wondered about the reality of shelly's life, and how close that might be to the reality of a woman in that situation, it does not matter, because this movie catches ones thoughts in a very suspenseful way, without being cheap or exploitive. in terms of the story it is a work of genius in its ability to wind through the suspense and not take the low road anywhere.

great performances, great speculative story, and excellent music and all around authentic feel. at the end of this movie during the credits a song called "things behind the sun" is played over the credits that is so haunting that i had to find out what it was look it up and buy it. in case anyone is interested it is things behind the sun by nick drake, who apparently died when he was 24.

for what this movie is, it is perfect, and i rated it a 10, which is hard to do. what it loses in speculation, it makes up in sheer guts and courage to make this story.

The good parts of this movie, apparently inspired by a true story, makes me wish it was better as a whole. Kim Dickens is great as a troubled singer still haunted by a gang rape as a teenager. Don Cheadle as her manager and ex-lover has stereotypical characteristics, but gives a very good performance (his final words and expression in the scene with the writer was classic). Eric Stolz is excellent as well. And, the scenes at the music magazine was interesting, if incomplete. The whole movie, however, also has an incomplete feeling to it. The passion and message is there, and the brutal honesty about rape and its effects on all involved valuable. Nonetheless, the movie drags too often and often feels incoherent. Also, the writer is a rather pathetic character, and I got tired of him mighty fast. A better script would have made this movie much better ... as is, it is a worthy misfire.

...is something Allison Anders expresses in her films, and wow, filming in the house where she herself was raped as a child shows her engagement with the movie. It's her compassionate and tough look at how many lives rape irreversibly affects. Films about rape or child molestation aren't probably going to be box office smashes anytime soon, but don't deny yourself this beautiful film just because the subject material is uncomfortable. Great dialogue, strong acting (especially by Kim Dickens and Don Cheadle), and the usual great script and direction by Alison Andres. Listen to the DVD commentary afterwards for more on this amazing film and the artist behind its creation, Ms. Andres.