Lullaby

The story centers around a son's and daughter's responses to a father's desire to end all palliative treatment, designed to keep him alive, in spite of his having an incurable cancer. Unfortunately, I didn't really know where this movie was going with the story. I saw a family of three arguing mostly, and going through emotional breakdowns without an ounce of genuineness.

The son is a musician who had a falling out with the family. Nothing else is mentioned about him. He grunts and yells, and goes through some emotional wrangling as he tries to accept his father wishes. The daughter's response is even more incomprehensible. Since her father took her and his son off his will, she started getting upset. Then she goes on about a person's right to die versus a responsibility to help family by staying alive. A little speech is inserted attesting to this. The mother mostly cries but has a few emotional breakdowns. That, in essence, was the movie, except that it was punctuated by a few "heartwarming moments" with a former girlfriend and young cancer patient, moments that didn't help with the unevenness of the script.

I saw no chemistry among the actors. The script was messy and the emotional reactions constantly displayed throughout the film became distracting. All four actors and their abilities were wasted on a poor script.

One of the many problems of this movie is the cast. People like Amy Adams and Terence Howard are wasted in small roles. RIchard Jenkins as always is great but he can't rescue the bad script, bad dialog and bad direction that often feels so forced and at times really cringeworthy. Look out for the scenes where the family falls into "fake" laughter. So you potentially have some really good actors but what do you do? You center the movie about the one who is attempting to act. Garrett Hudlunds acting is horrendous. I have never seen him being good but also never as painfully bad as here. I am sure he is trying but it just never works. And I don't know if it is him or the director but in every scene you get the feeling he is positioned in the scene a certain way to accentuate his looks. His pseudo artsy hair- and beardstyle doesn't help. He is a good looking dude but this is not a RomCom it is a drama. Focus on the acting not on looking good.

Don't let the present 6.2 rating here fool you. This movies is below the average. And please do not watch it because you like Amy Adams. She barely appears in the movie.

The whole plot looks forced, specially Adams' character, which was there probably to fool viewers into watching this. The story does not lead anywhere and tries too hard to be a lesson in life.

Pretentious, without any new ideas, and pointless are the best adjectives to describe it. It's the first work of this director, who clearly intended to make a emotionally loaded movie with a message, but ended with a broken piece.

This is a wonderful spectacular and emotional film. It grabs at the heartstrings. It makes you think. It makes you fall in love with a wonderful cast of dynamic characters, which are flawlessly performed on screen by an all-star ensemble of a cast. I think this was directed wonderfully.

I believe the story-line came together in a believable fashion. I think the viewer becomes a part of the overall story. You can relate to the characters. You seem to meld into the mindset and the actions and the emotional reality of the story. The story-line is something we all can become a part of and relate to and feel like we have gone through it or know someone that has gone through it.

It shocks me that this movie has got such bad ratings. The critics are absolutely wrong on this one. This is a touching story. A wake up call so you can say what needs to be said and done before it's too late. Like I say this is a film that is a true drama that needs to be seen. It's almost as if coming to a point in your life when you realize what needs to be done, has to be done now, there's a deadline and it makes you experience that reality.

It's great and funny at times. Nice originality and a relatable cast, relatable story and a flow of the direction, we all can become a part of. The film is very fresh. It seems like it's a moment of everyday life that you come in-sync with at what's taking place. At times you laugh, you're moved through an emotional journey of life and death and choices.

You can finish my review here: http://www.abucketofcorn.com/2014/07/lullaby-2014.html

This film tells the story of a dysfunctional family, who is reunited by the terminally ill father's decision to pull himself off life support.

"Lullaby" is named quite the opposite of what it really is. It is a dark film with a lot of arguments and dysfunctional interactions. It is not easy to watch. The pacing is very slow, and I think the film can be a lot shorter, especially by cutting out the music scenes that are unnecessarily long. Jennifer Hudson is memorable as a nurse with attitude, I am quite unsure if nurses in the States really act like that! The ending speech by the daughter is very touching, but it is still not enough to save "Lullaby" as a tedious film.