chktychyna

My friends and I were SO excited to see this movie. We were waiting for it for days and saw it the first night it came out.

What a disappointment. The lines were expressed exactly as they would if it were being performed as a play. This would be fine were it on the stage, but it wasn't and any sense of natural dialogue was lost.

Furthermore, there wasn't enough preparation to distinguish flashbacks from present-time.

The occasional white fades were awful and every Mike Nichols 'touch' (tight zooms, quick jump shots) were lost in this film.

Natalie Portman was the only redeeming character, but she didn't really redeem at all. I am disappointed that such a fantastic cast and crew couldn't put it all together.

I just saw this at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and loved it. It didn't feel like most movies I've seen lately. It didn't try to make the main character change for the better. It accepted all the flaws and moved on, focusing on the story. I loved all the connections and the fact that it's advertised to be "a very sad comedy" is exactly right. it is hilarious at some parts, and you want to cry at others, but it works. it's real. i loved it. beautiful cinematography and acting. Another thing i liked about the movie was it was genuinely from a little boy's point of view. when he has the dream with the man's voice becoming a telephone ring, that was priceless and clearly something that a little child would dream because it would be stuck in their heads. great movie. see it :)