Lovely, Still

Fortunately, I saw the preview recently in Tokyo. That was great. You should see this. When you see the press conference (Q & A) after the Toronto Film Festival, you can understand that the actors (Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn and etc) and the young director Nicholas Fackler trusted entirely each other. The actors were fascinated by Nik's talent. They realized his genius potentials into the marvelous work. I was amazed at how such a young (at age of of 23) "student" could have directed this excellent movie. Therefore, it is too bad that this movie is, so far, ignored by major studios and distributors in the US.

I never thought of this in such a way. I can only assume this is how life truly is for a person under these circumstances. Totally unexpected. A little slow in places but I loved it. I bawled like a baby.

I watched this on Netflix Instant streaming - because I have enjoyed all 4 lead players in the past. Ellen Burstyn was completely amazing, as usual. Martin Landau, once again did a stellar job and both Adam Scott and Elizabeth Banks were absolutely at their respective bests!

Beyond the fantastic acting, the story grabbed me immediately. My only frustration with the story was that I wanted better character development, I wanted to know more about both Mary and Robert's past. If you're feeling this way, stick with it, you'll be happy you did.

As another reviewer here said, watch it twice. You'll pick up so much that you didn't quite "get" the first time you watched it.

I couldn't have enjoyed this movie more and kudos to all involved!!

Ellen Burstyn and Martin Landau are so natural and graceful, they make even the corniest and most telegraphed moments almost work…almost. A movie that hinges on its charm (which works) and its twist (which does NOT work), the melodramatic and maudlin soap opera story overbears the fantastic performances.

Quite the dark horse of Christmas movies. I think it would have been enough to have an intimate film about an older couple meeting for the first time. This goes well beyond that, but talking about it would be a significant spoiler. It is endearing, funny, and quite quirky at times. Puzzling at first, before settling in. All of it comes into focus near the end, when the strangeness makes much more sense, and the message goes far beyond the typical holiday cheer and that love is everyone.

It's not perfect though. There are one or two things that actually never become situated and so there is no closure. This kind of hand waving is a pet peeve of mine. Especially when so much of it could be explained easily and in a short amount of time.