In Her Shoes - Se fossi lei

Having previously tackled a wide range of themes in his films, Director Curtis Hanson delves into the love/hate relationship of two disparate sisters in the film, In Her Shoes. The result is an enjoyably entertaining comedy/drama featuring a number of topflight performances and some hilarious dialogue.

Maggie Feller (Cameron Diaz) is an irresponsible, practically illiterate alcoholic who sleeps around and mooches or steals to get by in the world. Her sister, Rose Feller (Toni Collette) is a self conscious, workaholic lawyer who is dating her boss and indulges in her one passion, fashionable dress shoes. (Maggie's obsession with Rose's sexy heels recalls an ongoing theme of television's Sex and the City.) Both sisters lost their psychologically impaired mother to a supposed car accident that affected their family over the years. One day Maggie is thrown out of her house by her step mother and dad. Finding refuge with her sister, Rose, she proceeds to make life miserable with her carefree attitude and interference that ends in embarrassment and anger for both. As Rose's romantic and professional life is turned upside down, Maggie is sent packing and turns to one last hope, her maternal grandmother she never knew, namely Ella Hirsch (Shirley MacLaine). Ella works in a retirement community in Florida, and Maggie's appearance causes quite a stir. When she lost her daughter, Ella lost touch with her granddaughters, and Maggie's 'visit' serves as a catalyst for reconnection. Maggie's visit becomes a reawakening of sorts for herself and a chance for Ella to rediscover her lost family. Meanwhile, Rose is at a crossroads in her life and decides to change course in her job and finds romance from an unlikely source. Anxious to reunite her granddaughters, Ella resorts to extreme measures to bridge an emotional gap as her two girls begin to discover their own identities in unique and unexpected ways.

This is a gem of a film. It says something when you realize early on that you are watching something special. Curtis Hanson (L.A.Confidential, Wonder Boys) has struck gold with Susannah Grant's (Erin Brokovich) adaptation of the best seller by Jennifer Weiner. The film is really about the secrets and lies that cripple a family over time and how a strange course of events revisit the relationships or lack thereof. Hanson and the company do a marvelous job of balancing some very funny dialogue with more serious, dramatic scenes. There are some great, memorable lines, some of which are funny and smart without losing sight of the context of the story. A number of scenes are touching and affecting in their sensitive handling of real emotions without becoming clichéd. It's nice to see real people who change over time and how seemingly inconsequential supporting characters gradually come to the forefront.

The acting by the entire cast is strong and you appreciate the little nuances in facial expression and inflection of dialogue that enrich each character. This may be Cameron Diaz's best performance. That's saying something as the glamorous model has been more star than actress in her most popular films (Charlie's Angels, There's Something About Mary) and she is given a juicy role with sharp direction. Toni Collette has always been a solid actress in any film (Sixth Sense, The Hours) but she has found a wonderful character in Rose and makes the most of it. Shirley MacLaine (Terms of Endearment, The Turning Point) is terrific in what is a change of pace role where she eschews makeup to look her age and shows a maternal wisdom that is the stuff of Supporting Oscars. You wish there were more of her in the film, but what's there is delicious. It's nice to see an old pro like Norman Lloyd still displaying his acting chops in what is a minor role of a bed-ridden patient who has a profound influence on Diaz's character.

The performances are complemented by seamless editing which not only captures the right reactions, but effortlessly switches back and forth between the two sisters especially during key scenes that are thematically linked. Although the running time goes over two hours, the pacing is good, and everything seems integral to the storyline. The musical score by Mark Isham is quite effective in complimenting the emotional moments without ever being intrusive.

Despite its strong script, the film never fully explores Maggie's transformation which, while uplifting and remarkable, is never totally convincing given her origins and tendencies. Things get wrapped up in a dreamy sendoff which is perhaps too good to be true, but those same qualities also make for a more upbeat film.

Hanson displays a very keen eye in relating what is essentially a woman's film. Yes, this may be considered a woman's film in its theme and target audience, but considering the fact it is also a well made, funny, and heart rending film about love and family, the women ought to bring along the men. In Her Shoes is not just about rival sisters but rather it is about a family yanked apart and slowly brought together again in ways that are not altogether apparent at the start. How these lost souls meld together is the stuff of high entertainment and substance.

Don't be too harsh on this film. A chick-flick? Perhaps, but lots more than that! This film is about women relationships with just the right touch of comic relief many of these films normally lack. Hats of for everyone who contributed to this film! A good script, great acting and stellar craftsmanship of director Curtis Hanson make this one hit the bulls-eye, or very close indeed. I expected a decent comedy, which - in part - it certainly is, but the performances are so good and the characters so alive and breathing that I soon forgot about the initial comic aspect of the film. Right from the start, the film sucks you into the story, which just ring true.

Two sisters with quite opposite characters, sexy, uneducated party animal Maggie (Cameron Diaz) and the somewhat dull responsible lawyer Rose (Toni Collette), are unwillingly confronted with each other. They learn that they can actually learn something from their deficiencies and combine the strands they have - with help from their grandmother - to improve their lives.

Curtis Hanson expertly directs in an appropriately modest fashion He knows his job and manages to focus on character development but doesn't forget to add the occasional comic relief. The cast shines with Cameron Diaz in what might be her best role so far. The still vastly underrated Australian Toni Collette, who shined as the vulnerable ugly duckling in MURIEL'S WEDDING (1994), is just perfect in her role a Rose, and there's Shirley Maclaine as the sister's grandmother with a somewhat low-key part, but she knows how to handle it, expertly. A treat!

Perhaps some minor flaws: The story takes some time to get going. A bit too much focus on Cameron Diaz's legs, which is completely unnecessary and Maggie's partial illiteracy and incapability to get a job might have needed somewhat more background or explanation. What beautiful woman, no matter how stupid she might be, could have any difficulty finding a job? Highly unlikely. But these are minor quibbles.

Worth your time, even if you are one of three guys in a crowd of three hundred women in the cinema;)

Camera Obscura --- 9/10

In Philadelphia, the irresponsible and selfish Maggie (Cameron Diaz) is a drunken easy woman having sex with many men. Her sister Rose (Toni Collette) is the opposite, responsible lawyer but needy and having complex, compulsively buying shoes to relief her frustrations. Maggie is expelled from her father home by her stepmother, and Rose lodges her sister in her apartment. When Maggie has one night stand with Rose's boyfriend, Rose sends her sister away. She finds letters and postcards from her missing grandmother Ella Hirsch (Shirley MacLaine) that she believed had died that lives in a retirement compound in Florida hidden in her father's drawer, and without any option, she decides to travel to meet Ella. With Ella, Maggie changes, becoming another woman and improving the relationships in her family.

"In Her Shoes" is a feel-good comedy with an excellent lead trio of actresses. The story about sisterhood and parenthood is bitter sweet, alternating funny and dramatic moments and with a nice conclusion. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Em Seu Lugar" ("In Your Place")

I was very surprised by this movie. I try not to expect too much of films my girlfriend can't wait to see. I was surprised this didn't follow the usual 'mills & boon' formula with sisterly love hate peppered loosely. Certain references in particular to the shoe thread throughout kept the interest of the majority of girlie's around, but the evolving relationships of the main characters were finely crafted and kept the interest of non-chick-flicking shoe-loving shopaholic minority. The music was nice backdrop to the lives of Rose and Maggie, but for my money, the use of E.E. Cummings poems took this past the norm and into the quite enjoyable category.

If you're not a chick flick fan worth the viewing time.

If you are, well worth the entrance fee too.

"In Her Shoes" is noteworthy for its crisp dialogue, lively repartee, and multi-dimensional characters, For her novel and for her screenplay, Jennifer Weiner and Susannah Grant, respectively, both deserve an extra curtain call for exemplary work.

Because of the careful scripting, all three of the leading characters played by Toni Collette, Cameron Diaz, and Shirley MacLaine were strong roles with no single character dominating the script. The two sisters, Rose and Maggie, shared the focus in the first half of the film, and MacLaine's grandmother Ella provided a strong impetus in the latter portion.

While all three performances were superb, the trickiest role was Maggie the tomcat. Cameron Diaz brought depth to the role, and one scene especially stood out when Maggie's learning disability was revealed. As she struggled with her reading of the poem in the hospital room, a new dimension of the character suddenly emerged. The scene was sensitively played by Diaz, and the dialogue was, once again, dynamic, sustaining dramatic interest at a point when the impetus of the film could have been lost.

It was impressive as well that the screenplay offered some delectable dialogue for the small parts, especially in the members of the retirement community of Florida. There were many delightful and humorous moments. Yet, the screenplay provided depth and detail in a rich emotional tapestry.

One character that deserves special acknowledgment was the Professor, blind and dying in the Florida hospital. The role was played with great understatement by Norman Lloyd, a veteran character actor who performed with Orson Welles' celebrated Mercury Theatre. Prior to his stunning success in "Citizen Kane" and even before his notorious "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast, Welles was a luminary in the New York theatre. One of the great Shakespearean productions in America in the last century was Welles' 1937 production of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" that was part of the Federal Theatre Project. Norman Lloyd played the small but crucial role of Cinna the Poet, and, although Lloyd battled with Welles during the rehearsals, the death scene of Cinna the Poet underscored the theme of fascism that Welles wished to evoke. "In Her Shoes" provides Lloyd with another small, but memorable role. Lloyd's was a riveting performance, and the film would not have been the same without it.

Part of the genius of Shakespeare was his ability to individualize and make memorable even the tiniest roles in his plays. This was the strength as well of "In Her Shoes" and an example of some of the finest screen writing in recent years.