Les secrets du pardon

This obscure drama film about a former talented swimmer who tries to piece her life together after a troubled relationship is so aloof and uncommunicative that you feel like you've snuck into a party you weren't invited to. Writer/director Erin Dignam arguably aims for authenticity and depth by being offish, and it works in the sense that Robin Wright Penn's lead character comes off as remarkably true, even if she still isn't particularly interesting. William Hurt plays her lawyer in an even more introspective manner than we usually see him. His character seems absentminded, almost like a distraction, until we ultimately get a little glimpse into his own demons, which seem to gravitate him towards Wright Penn. It's all a somewhat slight and detached character study, but at least it's an actual study. The women are in focus here, which may be some sort of accomplishment in itself, and the film tries to discuss issues which it doesn't claim to have a definitive answer to beforehand. For that Dignam and her cast deserve credit, even if the end product is artistically lacking and never quite comes alive. Sean Penn produced and appears in an allegorical cameo.

I saw this film while voting for the Independent Spirit Awards and I must say it had many of my favorite performers. William Hurt, Amy Madigan, Sean Penn (whose company helped make the movie), Joanna Cassidy, Paul Dooley and Jennifer Rubin is like a dream cast to me. I couldn't wait for them to be put to good use. Sadly, they were given almost nothing interesting to do. It has a good setup, it is about the damage that happens in abusive relationships, specifically what people are willing to endure in order to feel loved. The project was not structured or developed very well, however. I think the script needed a few more drafts because the situations needed more urgency or more weight. Most good independent films take you on an emotional or spiritual journey and this film just did not do that.

This film came to me accidentally, but maybe that's the only way something with this much emotional depth can. It's not slow and boring - it breathes. And it allows one to breathe. The pace is appropriate and won't leave one fidgeting like the endless underwater blue fairy scene in A.I., or Ed Harris's pounding of his ex-wife's chest for the hundredth time in The Abyss' ridiculous resuscitation scene. It has an enchanting rhythm, like the Accidental Tourist - it reminded me about William Hurt's under-appreciated (he rarely immediately pops to mind when thinking of our greatest actors), yet luminous interior talent . If you're a sensitive person who likes to be absorbed and also participate intellectually in a movie, check it out.

This movie has the most ridiculous dialogue. It was like walking into the middle of a conversation about something you never heard of and people you don't know. And that never changed.

It's interesting how depending on the maturity of each viewer, there are so positive and so negative comments at the time. This proves one more time how differently we perceive things. I saw this movie, maybe 3-4 years ago. I must admit, I did not experience any feeling of excitement while watching it, nevertheless it did catch my attention. When it ended the only idea that I was left with was that love is like a drug... if you become addicted ... it can ruin you. Robin's character response to "if you were to go back in time what would you do?" , "I would do everything just the same"... was tattooed to my brain. This story needed to be told and it couldn't have been better told. This is my opinion.