Lovely, Still

Quite the dark horse of Christmas movies. I think it would have been enough to have an intimate film about an older couple meeting for the first time. This goes well beyond that, but talking about it would be a significant spoiler. It is endearing, funny, and quite quirky at times. Puzzling at first, before settling in. All of it comes into focus near the end, when the strangeness makes much more sense, and the message goes far beyond the typical holiday cheer and that love is everyone.

It's not perfect though. There are one or two things that actually never become situated and so there is no closure. This kind of hand waving is a pet peeve of mine. Especially when so much of it could be explained easily and in a short amount of time.

I am both a Martin Landau and an Ellen Burstyn fan, so I was especially looking forward to seeing them act. I expected formidable acting muscle, sparks, confrontations: things befitting their Actor's Studio origins. What instead greeted me was a Landau so frail and docile...and frightened. His character, Robert Malone, is a man who treads warily and uneasily through life. He is a single man, and we assume he has simply been unlucky in love. Burstyn is the loving, open-hearted, yet lonely, woman who sweeps into his life one Christmas and changes it forever. One thing about Landau in this film: the actor looks shockingly aged, and I'm sure this has been deliberately used by both the filmmaker and Landau himself as a sort of effect to win us over to sympathy for Malone. Yet I had no doubt that this is a consummate performance. Landau, in life, is likely vital and engaged whereas Robert Malone, as I have said, seems on the brink of terror nearly every moment of his day. (The "wakeup" sequences are especially effective conveying this.) The love story plays out in an even-handed way. Underneath this blossoming love, of course, is the shadow of mortality. There occurs--over two-thirds into the film--a dramatic event that I won't reveal or spoil, but it causes the viewer to look back over events that occurred and reflect on them...in a rewarding way. The drama is never cheap nor unjustified. I come away with satisfaction and admiration for the unexpected performances, for the tender core of the film, and for a fresh perspective on the elderly that is anything but cloying or cliché. This movie is in fact--particularly with the presence of Death hanging over events (as another character in the film)--as gripping and occasionally breathless as any thriller.

I watched this on Netflix Instant streaming - because I have enjoyed all 4 lead players in the past. Ellen Burstyn was completely amazing, as usual. Martin Landau, once again did a stellar job and both Adam Scott and Elizabeth Banks were absolutely at their respective bests!

Beyond the fantastic acting, the story grabbed me immediately. My only frustration with the story was that I wanted better character development, I wanted to know more about both Mary and Robert's past. If you're feeling this way, stick with it, you'll be happy you did.

As another reviewer here said, watch it twice. You'll pick up so much that you didn't quite "get" the first time you watched it.

I couldn't have enjoyed this movie more and kudos to all involved!!

For a first time director/writer, this film is amazing. The sweet and the sour are both represented and displayed in such beautiful style. There is no question that the power of love is alive and well in this amazing story.

All of the actors really took to their roles; for me this is always a sign that a great director is behind the project. Can anyone say Clint Eastwood?

See this film, and tell everyone you know to see this film. We loved it.

Major distribution will pick this one up.

I never thought of this in such a way. I can only assume this is how life truly is for a person under these circumstances. Totally unexpected. A little slow in places but I loved it. I bawled like a baby.