Woman Wanted

It is a complete mystery why this gem of a movie has apparently failed to find a theatrical release and been shown first on cable TV. " Woman Wanted " has a strong cast and demonstrates again that Holly Hunter is one of the most gifted actresses around today. Coming on top of her wonderful performance in " Living Out Loud " and a great turn on stage in the off-broadway play " Impossible Marriage " it is a delight in this movie to see her combining wistful emotion with a fierce self-confidence that really makes you care what happens to the enigmatic character of Emma Riley. Emma is the " Woman Wanted " hired as a housekeeper by the Goddard father and son strongly played by Michael Moriarty and Kiefer Sutherland (who also directs the movie) and the way Hunter plays the role evokes memories of characters from earlier movies such as Miss Firecracker, Always and Once Around. She somehow manages to look a dead ringer for Carnelle in Miss Firecracker, even though that movie is over 10 years old, and totally different from the Judith the 40 something New Yorker in Living Out Loud. Perhaps this is the true meaure of a great actor.

" Woman Wanted " comes over a shade or two darker than the excellent book by Joanna McClelland Glass (who also wrote the screenplay) which is a shame as the movie could have done with some of the book's lighter moments to offset a sombre mood . But take nothing away from the main performers who have a good chemistry - especially Sutherland and Hunter - and the line from Sutherland about the emergency room being a good substitute for family is a classic.

Above all, though, I shall remember " Woman Wanted " for the emotional power of Hunter's performance as Emma Riley and to borrow Spielberg's words she is a true " architect of character. "

This move was a project of Kiefer's that he really believed in. Then the editors got a hold of it and butchered it quite badly. Kiefer pulled his name from the credits and that is why you see Smithee's name as director. His mother, Shirley Douglas, is listed very high in the opening credits, but in the cut version, you never see her. The author also has a small part and it was also cut. I have to agree with the previous comment that the DVD, and the version you see on the television now, is the cut version. I also notice there is a very large discrepancy of pricing in the VHS versions. I am myself looking for the uncut version, as I have not yet seen it. I am a huge Kiefer fan, and have talked to him personally about this film. Over the years he has allowed his name back on the credits, but still feels bad over what happened

I was pretty surprised to find this in the video store as it seemed like it might be an obscure film. I read Kiefer Sutherland has since removed his name from the director credits, replaced by infamous Alan Smithee, and after watching this, I can see why. "Woman Wanted" is full of promise but suffers from poor emotional pacing, and poor editing. It takes a moment to sometimes realize the scene you are watching takes place some time after the previous scene, giving no indication to the amount of time passage as the characters grow to know each other. As a result, emotional developments seem awkward and at times, unmotivated, or just plain unbelievable. Holly Hunter just seemed flat the whole film through, and Kiefer Sutherland, seemly to have miscast himself, plays Wendell like he is six years old. What is with the Christopher Robin look? I think if more screen time had been allowed to show the emotional attachments develop, and better editing cues to herald the passage of time, the emotions the actors portrayed would have seemed more believable. I would love to see Kiefer to continue honing his directorial skills, but he still has some learning to do...consider this effort one of his film school kindergarten projects.

Holly Hunter is skilful and charming as always, and Kiefer Sutherland is better than usual. Michael Moriarty is sufficiently different from his "Law and Order" role (the only thing from which I really know him) that I can see he's a capable actor, not just a TV character. But everyone's performance is perhaps a bit too unmodulated, with too constant a tone from start to finish. I also had trouble believing the sudden romance than blooms between Moriarty and Hunter. And the Billy Eckstine version of "Everything I Have Is Yours" that plays over the closing credits is such a clash with the flavor of the rest of the movie.

I found the ending a bit disturbing, though. I'm not giving anything away that's not already in the IMDB plot summary, but I couldn't help wondering how this odd family would make out, with a newborn that could belong either to Moriarty or Sutherland. Will they teach the child that Sutherland is the father and Moriarty as the grandfather, or that Sutherland is the half-brother and Moriarty is the father? Perhaps not a stressful as "my sister AND my daughter," but awkward nonetheless. Sounds not like the end of the story but the beginning of another one.

This remarkably nuanced film directed by Kiefer Sutherland succeeds in many places. Handsomely and sensitively shot, it suggests many small films by more acclaimed directors, and is far more confident than any impression of Sutherland's work to date would make it reasonable to expect.

While working at a NYC-based talent agency, I had the pleasure of assisting the agent to Carrie Preston, who shines like a jewel in this movie. When the role was offered to Carrie, the film was already in production in Canada, and my boss was out of town, so I had to frenziedly get the script to Preston, work out the details of Carrie's deal with the agent covering in LA, and get her on a plane in the space of a few days.

I spent the better part of one Saturday copying the script. I took it home and read it, wondering what the hell could be worth all of the inconvenience...seeing the finished piece, nearly three years after it was filmed makes it all worthwhile...Preston's utterly spontaneous, natural, courageously unvain performance is a triumph for an actress who works steadily in the NY theater and gets far too few film roles. As Sutherland's girlfriend, she conveys a litany of emotion in a single glance, and nails her role as a young, haplessly confused and conflicted woman cold.

Sutherland triumphs in two ways; by sparing nothing in his unsympathetic portrayal of the sullen, withdrawn, unbearably moody Wendell Goddard while keeping the melodrama firmly in check. His directorial restraint and maturity keep his character's presence in the film to a minimum, and the film and his character are both better served by it.

Michael Moriarty delivers a lovely performance as Richard Goddard, the buttoned-up, widowed patriarch of a dysfunctional New England family, loving his son while having absolutely no idea who he is or what to do with him.

Emma Riley arrives, played flawlessly by Holly Hunter, as the "woman" desired in the title, to take charge of the large old house inhabited by the two men who barely know one another. Predictably, her charm and honesty pierce the veil of WASP coolness, and she brings warmth and intimacy back to the lives of the two closed men.

The charm and good intentions of this film are hard to deny. Love for the project shines like sunlight through every crack in the tightly written script, from the book of the same name. Earnest work from the four principals is satisfying, yet overall, the film feels slightly glib and trite once you are away from it for a few hours. I was enthralled while watching it, really relishing the chance to view some stellar work by some very good actors, and yet, something about it is predictable and slightly disappointing once some of the spell it wove about me wore off.

Overall, I think this is well worth finding on cable or in your video store. Richly written characters make some of the overly metaphoric shots worth enduring, and the dead-on performances are a rare pleasure indeed. A flawed tale of emotional development and the importance of love and communication. Very nice work.