Ein ungezähmtes Leben

Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, and eye candy, J. Lo., along with a delightful young new comer Becca Gardener and a believable story, and you have an honest to goodness story of real people dealing with real life.

Many will see it as a soap opera.

As you look back at the projects Redford has been involved with, you see continuity. He likes to look into the lives of "ordinary people" living simple normal lives. No cheap tricks here. Just an honest story.

Jean Gilkyson, (J. Lo) the young, widowed and down and out of luck daughter-in-law of Einar Gilkyson (Redford) is a battered woman in Iowa. She and her 11 year old daughter Griff escape her abusive boy friend (Lewis) from Iowa and manage to reach the dumpy Wyoming ranch of her once father-in-law. No love is lost between the two as he blames her for the untimely death of his son. (No Spoilers here!) Predictably, there is conflict and drama between the two. Add in the wonderful supporting act of Morgan Freeman as the ailing ranch hand living in a nearby cabin, a bit of romance between J. Lo. and the local sheriff, the appearance, disappearance and reappearance of the abusive boyfriend from Iowa along with the absolutely delightful performance of Becca Gardner whose eyes will mesmerize you and, "Bart the Bear" and you have well spent time and money.

-Enjoy

As I write this review, I think of why I actually decided to see this movie. I came to the realization that it was to see Robert Redford, and Morgan Freeman - two top-notch, class actors. That said, along with the fact that I'm not a very big fan of Jennifer Lopez's, I thought the presence of Redford, and Freeman would be enough to enjoy this movie. I was wrong, not that either Redford, or Freeman's performances were nothing less than excellent, but the job done by Becca Gardner was especially wonderful. In fact, in my opinion, she stole the show. Gardner's portrayal of the Griff Gilkyson character was a special one indeed. And yes I must admit, I even enjoyed Jennifer Lopez in this movie. All in all, a very solid movie that I enjoyed so much. And the best part, it was NOT a remake.. thankfully !!

This is the third film from the director that I saw after Chocolat n Cider Ho...I would not call this one a great piece of storytelling but I speak entirely for myself when I say, the characters do not let you go, while you watch this movie. And that is something. Each character and player when he/she is on screen is telling you so many things at a time that you get completely engrossed in their story.

Jennifer Lopez plays a single mother running away from her abusive(typical) boy friend Damian Lewis and has no where to go but to her Father-in-law who hates her. Father-in-law is of course Robert Redford who is not looking forward to anything in life, and his only real purpose in living seems to be to take care of his wounded friend Morgan Freeman. There is Bear which wounded Freeman and is the terror element in the otherwise peaceful Wyoming (smashing locales) town and there is Josh Lucas the love interest/sheriff for Jenny's Cinderella. There is débutant Becca Gardner the even-tempered daughter of Jenny's. Camrein Maynheim (The Practice) has a supporting role. And there I finish the list of principal characters in the movie.

Now why I am taking pains to mention each one of them is because they are who make this movie watchable. Especially Freeman,Gardner and Redford (in that order). Not that others do a bad job. But these three provide all the entertainment. None of the characters are living in what we would call normal circumstances in any way. At the same time there is nothing new about the story they are telling. It is just the way they go about telling it. Unhurriedly, through gestures and expressions, breathing life into these stereotypes. There is redemption for everyone involved and that is expected. But the story manages to teach you something, and not in a very persuasive manner. That is the redeeming feature of the movie and may be that is the flaw. It will fail to influence too many, some might even find it boring. But I guess that is Okay because for the few viewers who like an optimistic story told with compassionate characters played by expert actors, this one is worth watching.

Some films are able to capture subtleties in a pretty straightforward manner, and this is one of them. With the very capable support of Morgan Freeman, a quite good Jennifer Lopez, and masterful work by Robert Redford, we're treated to a special film, a study of family relationships where things don't appear contrived or staged.

People carry grudges and live with demons for many years; some are unable to even get rid of them. That's the case of Redford's character. Without a way to release himself, he has managed to create a pretty miserable existence for himself. The only redeeming moment arising from the relationship with his best friend.

Things are bound to change with the arrival of his daughter-in-law and the granddaughter he never knew existed. The drama unfolds quite nicely and our hearts are touched along the way. It's a quiet movie, full of lovely vistas and some intense drama. It doesn't pack the punch of "Million Dollar Baby", a film which it's bound to recall because of the Freeman's character dynamics. Give yourself a treat and enjoy Redford in the comeback film of his career.

In order to escape from the abusive boy-friend Gary Winston (Damian Lewis), Jean Gilkyson (Jennifer Lopez) moves with her young daughter Griff Gilkyson (Becca Gardner) without previous notice to the ranch of her father-in-law Einar Gilkyson (Robert Redford) in Wyoming. Jean and Einar are disaffected, since he blames her for the death of his beloved son in a car accident. Einar is taking care of his friend Mitch Bradley (Morgan Freeman), who was attacked and seriously wounded by a bear, and he does not know that he has a grand-daughter. While Mitch heals his wounds and forgives the bear, Einar also changes his feelings regarding Jean, finally understanding that accidents happen and accepting her and loving his grand-daughter.

"An Unfinished Life" is a beautiful tale of forgiveness, with the lead characters healing their wounds – Mitch, the ones provoked by a savage bear, and Einar his innermost feelings of loss. The cast has amazing performances, showing the importance of a director of the weight of Lasse Halltröm: Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman are unanimity, but I myself like a lot the versatile Jennifer Lopez and strongly believe that even the viewer that dislike her as actress must admit her excellent performance in this touching film. Josh Lucas is a great support actor and the favorable surprise is the performance of the young and unknown Becca Gardner. Although being a predictable story without any twist, this sensitive movie is highly recommended. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Um Lugar para Recomeçar" ("A Place to Restart")