Due vite spezzate

I thought he was a wonderful man. The first time I met him, he told me I had the face of an angel. I worked for him at Bloomingdale's for Visage Beaute Cosmetics. He was very charming and had a dynamic personality. It was mesmorizing just looking at him. There were 10 of us girls working at the counter and we were all hopelessly devoted to Roy. I also met his partner, Kevin, he was a very nice man, as well. We did whatever we could to make his business a success and were instructed and coached to go out in the aisle of Bloomingdale's and grab women to come to our counter to try Visage. It was a really unique sales technique at the time. I watched this movie recently and I must say, Keifer Sutherland did a good job of portraying him, although I never saw this tougher side of Roy. I am glad that there is some sort of documentation to commemorate this very special man.

First let me say that I am a long-time Kiefer fan (and yes, I too, think that 24 is the best show on television!) but that doesn't bias my opinion of this film. This film is one of the best I've seen this year. It is a quiet, beautiful character study which doesn't rely upon or need glitz or flash. The depths of these characters could not be explored without the even, thoughtful performances of Sutherland and Sedgwick. I watched the DVD twice as a rental then looked high & low to find it for sale with no luck until I convinced my local video store to sell a rental copy to me. Don't miss an opportunity to see this film!

"Behind the Red Door" tells of a woman (Sedgwick) who visits her estranged brother (Sutherland) only to learn he is dying. Much more than just another "dying" flick and a surprisingly fine film for a director with such a short resume, "...Red Door" wrings powerful performances from the pair of leads, avoids the usual lugubrious tear-jerking, shows solid cinematic style and artistry, and ends on a deeply profound note. Most of all, "...Red Door" fills its emotional landscape with the most beautiful of all elements - reality. An intelligently wrought flick which should be a well received by realists and sentimentalists alike. (A-)

I knew next to nothing about this film and rented mainly because I have loved Kiefer Sutherland since I first saw him in Stand by me (and that's a difficult movie to love him in)

His performance is simply perfection, never becoming too sympathetic, never losing touch of the character. Oddly, what has stayed with me is the flashback scene of him applying makeup on his dead mother's face, lipstick shaking in his hands.

This is a complex and beautiful film, focussing on the relationship between brother and sister, rather than the glamorous world they are both working in or the mystery of who killed their mother.

I know I must see this film again. I strongly recommend it.

I don't ordinarily go in for "dying" movies, but Kiefer Sutherland is so talented, I made an exception. He was excellent in this film, bringing the character to life in a most believable way. I also like Kyra Sedgwick, but all throughout, I kept picturing Julia Roberts in that role - they're so much alike, in my opinion. I always love to watch Stockard Channing, who consistently gives a fine performance. She was the shining light in "Grease", which was otherwise pablum. Her scene in BTRD with Sedgwick, where they shouted curses at each other was hysterical!