I segreti del cuore

I would recommend this film; I was drawn in by the cast, particularly Julianne Moore and Blythe Danner. It's a typical situation...tense family angst around the Thanksgiving table. But this time, it's not played for cuteness (i.e., Jodie Foster's "Home for the Holidays"). Dad (Roy Scheider, giving a really icy performance) is seriously unstable, as is the eldest daughter (Julianne Moore). Mom (Blythe Danner) and the baby of the family (Noah Wyle, also a producer) are more likeable -- this being an indie, it also means they're less interesting. The other two children are pretty much ignored by the script, though Hope Davis as the eldest son's romantic interest gives the picture a lift whenever she appears on screen. There are a few amusing moments and clever lines of dialogue, but it's not a Woody Allen comedy/drama -- this one is more raw and probably more honest. Definitely worth a rental. You might love it or hate it, but it will assuredly affect you one way or the other.

I turned this off after the first five minutes when I first saw it on TV. After seeing it again years later I enjoyed it a lot more than I though I would. It's just a simple story of a fairly dysfunctional family getting together for the holidays.

I liked the beautiful, sparsely populated Maine setting. James LeGros' off the wall character was the best thing about the film. I would have liked to have seen more of him. And hallelujah, one of my all time favorite actors, Roy Schneider is back in A-list action after being stuck in B-movie hell for so damn long. Noah Wyle and redheaded vixen Julianne Moore dish out good performances as well.

It's not a great film by any stretch of the imagination. Just a surprisingly good one. It could have been a bit longer, maybe the screenplay punched up and it would qualify as great. But kudos all around nonetheless to the cast and filmmakers, they still did themselves proud, baby. This movie is a hidden gem. It wasn't widely seen as it should have been.

I didn't know a thing about this movie until I rented it last night. After it ended, my wife said, "What was the point of that? It's like there was a hidden camera in somebody's house, but there was nothing interesting for the hidden camera to see." That was the problem with "The Myth of Fingerprints": we watched a group of uninteresting characters not do anything interesting for an hour-and-a-half.

Here are our characters.

1. DAD (Roy Scheider) - Dull and silent. When drunk, acts drunk.

2. MOM (Blythe Danner) - Acts like a mom.

3. BIG SISTER (Julianne Moore) - Bitter and annoying. And bitter. A completely unpleasant character...but not even interestingly unpleasant. Just bitter.

4. BIG BROTHER (Noah Wylie) - Cute and bland. Broke up with GIRLFRIEND and acts depressed until he gets back together with her.

5. LITTLE SISTER - Cute, perky, and bland.

6. LITTLE BROTHER - Doesn't do anything. Don't know why he's in the script at all, except as an excuse to write his cute, perky, and bland GIRLFRIEND into the movie.

7. BIG SISTER'S HUSBAND (or maybe BOYFRIEND) - Cute and bland. Bickers with insufferable BIG SISTER.

Well, that's our cast. What do they do? Get together for Thanksgiving and spend a few dinners together, then go home. Meanwhile, the big "conflicts" in the plot include:

1. BIG SISTER acts like a jerk and annoys everyone (including the audience).

2. BIG BROTHER finds out that GIRLFRIEND broke up with him because DAD acted drunk some time ago.

3. All characters search for something to say and do to fill up the screen time, but fail, mostly.

Well, that's our plot. Not much conflict, not much character development. Suddenly, the screen fades to black, then the credits roll. I can't recall a time when I felt LESS involved in a movie than this one. What was the point? To show how bland a family Thanksgiving dinner can be? If that was the goal, then the movie accomplished it, with flying colors.

Greetings again from the darkness. Caught this one on IFC and was really impressed with the ensemble cast. Especially great work from Julianne Moore, who's role in lesser hands would have crushed the film. Beautifully shot in Maine, the scenery and warm home almost lull you into normalcy. However, the characters shock you into the ultimate dysfunctional family. No warm holiday fuzzies here. A couple of great scenes with Noah Wylie. First, with him alone in bed, while everyone else in the house is "intimately involved". Also, a flashback scene showing a moment of true weakness with his father, and the subsequent 3 years of guilt he carries. Good stuff. My tidbit on this one involves the tangled web of the cast and crew. "Roseanne" series ties together 3 of the actors, while Julianne Moore and Laurel Holloman worked together on "Boogie Nights". Also director Bart Freundlich and Moore parented a child together. Aah, the close knit fabric on independent filmmaking! Worth a rental.

"The Myth of Fingerprints" promises reality and the audience is in fact confronted with a wave of honest, hurting, wonderful, banal, outstanding and intense situations. Everything turns out to be the pure essence of life. During the whole movie the spectator is looking for an extra-ordinary action that makes sure that "The Myth of Fingerprints" is a film, a visualized story, an artificial product but the expectations are again and again reduced to absurdity. Because life doesn't mean to immediately commit suicide when something does go wrong, real life is far away from having responses to all asked questions. Life is often quiet and simple with some beautiful, warm and grand moments. "The Myth of Fingerprints" is life projected to the screen: authentic and beautifully simple. The cast is brilliant and Julianne Moore, as always, gives a wonderful performance showing the versatility of a disillusioned character that though is still desperately looking for love, sympathy and understanding. 9/10