Open Window

I loved this movie. With a fine hand and an elegant restraint, Mia Goldman's inaugural feature is a beautifully crafted work. With a concise and well articulated story line, Ms. Goldman, who wrote and directed, has made an engaging movie that moved me in many unexpected ways. The story of a young couple, deeply in love, confronting an enormous challenge startled me. Disturbed me. Robin Tunney and Joel Edgerton play the romantic leads with elegance and passion. Their love affair drives the story and they do it well. TElliot Gould and Cybil Shepard, in unusually textured roles, perform beautifully. This smart, sophisticated Indie film is subtly driven. We're sucked into the emotional vortex almost from the beginning. Once there, it's an intense ride. It's not everybody's cup of tea. There are disturbing elements that I will not reveal. But if you hang in you will be deeply and profoundly rewarded. This is one of those sleeper films. A wonderfully rewarding debut.

This film's audio/visual quality gives it the cheapy feel of a Lifetime movie, and I guess it's fair to say that the movie's target audience is women, but the man's side is definitely explored, and Edgerton and Tunney give compelling enough performances to hold any adult viewer's attention for an hour and a half...I say adult viewers, because this film is pretty dark. The subject matter is not one that I would normally seek out, but I was captivated anyway. By the way, Tunney is definitely a "girlfriend experience" actress...that's twice now I've fallen in love with her. And on a final note, I was surprised at how forced and awkward Shepherd's performance seemed...I had fond memories of her as an actress before this.

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Very enjoyable movie but would have like to seen a little more continuity in the plot and sub-plots. Cybill Shepherd's character was funny and provided some comic relief to a fairly serious subject matter. Didn't understand the significance of the bird on the window ledge. Robin Tunney (Izzy) didn't convince me of her true feelings at the end of the movie. Overall, I would go see this as an entertaining albeit serious relationship movie. I loved the actress that plays the psychiatrist (she was Bree Van De Camp's mother-in-law on Desperate Housewives). I discussed this movie with another person and we both agreed that a picture of the attacker in Izzy's camera would have been a good thing as well as a large portrait of him at her show.

This film, for the first time I believe, explores the effects of a trauma which intrudes itself upon the apparently otherwise smooth and fulfilling relationships of the lead characters ), and the ripple effects of that trauma on their relationships with family and friends.

The trauma could be in many forms, not necessarily the one depicted here. Our lives, seemingly secure as they flow along, can be brutally interrupted by many events -- devastating and crippling accidents, unexpected and life-threatening illness, etc etc etc. Not only is devastation wreaked upon the subject, but tangentially upon all his/her relationships. This film makes us clearly aware of this fact.

Now, the healing and rehabilitation and recovery must hopefully and painfully take place. How far can one come back? How can one become better, stronger, than prior to the trauma? This film gently, patiently, helps us see that one need not remain a victim forever! One can overcome! Not easily, not without scars, but with dignity and self-pride.

A bonus is the music score. It is beautiful and supportive, yet never intrusive. It is in exquisite unity with the film and a joy to experience.

I enjoyed this movie so much. There were great plot twists, and the way the characters lives were intertwining through out the film was entertaining to say the least. I thought the art direction was beautifully executed. I walked out of the theater a little exhausted....but in a good way...I felt like I had been taken on a short emotional ride. I like a movie that can shake all different emotions out of me, and this movie did include some comic relief. I especially liked the scene with Eliott Gould and Robin Terney at dinner, the lighting was beautiful, and the dialog was great...Thank you for this special treat...