Woman Wanted

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.

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.

"Woman Wanted" tells of a domestic (Hunter) who is accepted for employment in a household consisting of a father (Moriarty) and son (Sutherland) who have deep, long held issues. With her infectious smile and delicately assertive presence, Hunter increases the wattage in the household lights and the men's hearts. Critically slammed, this character study film will likely find its narrow audience among those who can identify with the principles..the brittle, temperamental poet and the professorial elder intellectual. Hunter is always good but, IMHO, Moriarty stole this show.

I have to admit I checked out this movie solely because it was filmed locally and was curious how it turned out - what a pleasant surprise! I would describe this quiet, somewhat slow moving film as a bittersweet, and moving testament to the bonds of family. It is also eerily reminiscent of Redford's "Ordinary People" starring Keifer's dad, Donald Sutherland. The performances were A+. The interplay between father and son were especially moving and I couldn't help thinking( hypothetically of course)of Keifer's own personal issues with his own estranged father(especially since Keifer also directed this, as well as starred in it). Ideally this movie would of, I believe, have had a bigger audience as a movie of the week or say a Hallmark presentation. Too bad, as "Woman Wanted" is a likable film deserving of more recognition, or even possibly an Emmy nomination if it was. But be warned, this movie is quite slow...just stick with it, it'll be worth it.

I saw the video first as a rental and loved it. Then I bought the DVD and was disappointed that 1)Kiefer Sutherland's name was removed as the director, and replaced with Alan Smithee and his version of the film, and 2)There were a number of important scenes that the DVD version deleted. Do yourself a favor and rent the video. The video makes sense whereas, the DVD version seems to skip about and leaves out key scenes which are essential for understanding and enjoying this wonderful movie.