The Pilot's Wife

This has become one of my all-time favorite movies, and the book is also outstanding. I read the book first, and was glad that I did. After reading this book, Anita Shreve has become one of my favorite authors. "The Pilot's Wife" was a movie that keeps you riveted to your seat, awaiting the next surprise. You never know what to expect from one moment to the next. There is so much going on in this movie that you can watch it more than once and still enjoy it. I Have watched it 2-3 times, and can't wait to see it again. Christine Lahti is a wonderful actress, and I love her in this movie. She plays Kathryn like no one else could have, and makes her come to life on the screen. My favorite scene in this movie was when she came face to face with the secret life from her husband's past. I can't imagine being in a position such as this, especially after the death of your husband.

Stop me if you've seen this one before: hubby-missing-believed-dead,wifey-then-finds-out- doubtful-things-about-him...ah, but this movie goes beyond the usual formula, throwing in some political, and criminal factors...one is never sure how things are going to turn out.

Most of the characters are entertainingly devious, playing various parts to achieve each different end.., can one even count on the "heroine" wife, and her daughter ?

The dialogue is brief, and to the point, the characters ring true (even the false ones!), and I was absorbed for almost two hours...I didn't understand the ending, which is perhaps a failing of my intelligence, rather than the film's intent, whatever, that cost the film a point, I deducted another, because it was, after all, a formula film, and a third because it wasn't "Love With The Proper Stranger" - my benchmark for romantic/suspense films.

As (nearly)always, the actors are good, but I must make especial mention of Christine Lahti...when she first appears, she's just awakened, she looks drab, and her age...but, to me, she was still an attractive woman...that's charisma!

The film has the potential to be quite good. It has an interesting story line which unfold throught the movie.

When she visits London and then Ireland, you can't help thinking that the movie would be must better if the crew had spent a little bit of money on plane tickets and done some filming there! The 4 or 5 cars which appear in the background seem to follow her to ireland, which looks suspiciously like the north american coast.

But on the whole, it's a fairly average movie to pass the time. Little bit more budget? then 8 out of 10. Otherwise, about 5.

If you're a big fan of C Lahti - see this - her face is wonderful, catching myriad emotions with depth & grace.

The rest of it is lame - low plot, leads that die, ideas not followed through, unsatisfying characters going half-way, no pay off.

Campbell Scott, while easy on the eyes resorts to two tones - one flat & the other flatter.

Supporting cast has little to work with in the way of story, development or location. There is nothing redeeming about any of the film except for Lahti's acting.

You'd be better off browsing in the romance section of the used book store.

I liked the picture very much and realized at the end that it was not being filmed in Ireland but in Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia, the site of the real, disastrous Swiss Air Flight crash several years ago. I have pictures that I shot in exactly the same spot which features the light house which you can see as they zoom in on the crash site at the end of the movie. The end credits did not include any of the actual location sites or credit giving to any of the establishments where they did the filming.The ending was a bit abrupt without mention of what happened to the character played by Scott Campbell. All in all, however, it was better than most of this type of story.