A Verdade

Whilst the cast was good I was not impressed as the movie was a bit "blah" no highlights really and all in all a bit monotonous. Maybe harsh but that is my view.

Stellar performances all round, particularly Clémentine Grenier. A star in the making.

The story, such as it was, left to the viewer to try and work out and unravel.

On the whole it was slow and in the end, just stopped.

I stuck with it, my wife gave up.

I didn't get into the story at all. I find the film rather boring. Ethan Hawke is an insignificant vase in this film, which is quite a waste of his acting skills.

A lackluster screenplay from an otherwise a very talented director gives way to this underwhelming drama with actors of star levels on their own. The film is structured mostly as a drama but the comedic undertones point at such a wonderful potential for a straight out clever comedy, it's frustrating to see the film never goes there. With a few tweaks on the screenplay, adding a few smart jokes to the dialogues this film could have been a great heart warming comedy with deep dramatic undertones. 6/10

The Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda is famous for focusing on some of the darker aspects of what it is to be Japanese. Some folks in his homeland (including some politicians) have criticized his films for exposing these problem....though many film buffs have loved these same films. It's surprising, then, when you watch "The Truth"....not just because it has an all French and American cast but because unlike his films such as "Like Father, Like Son" and "Shoplifters", he DOES pull his punches and more often than not avoids pushing boundaries! As a result, my daughter and I enjoyed the film but were also very disappointed.

The film stars Catherine Deneuve and Juliet Binoche as a self-absorbed mother and her frustrated daughter during a visit. And, amazingly, by the end of the story, nothing much happens....few sparks and the big confrontation scene you expect (because the daughter deservedly resents her mother) never really materialize and the mother somehow receives absolution though she did little to merit it....again, NOT like what you'd expect in a Hirokazu Koreeda movie.

Overall, the acting was good but the story itself a bit flat.