Estranhos Encontros

Congrats, this was the worst movie I was ever unfortunate enough to see (and I've seen a lot). Acting sucked, script sucked, and if there had BEEN a plot that would have sucked too. I don't blame the actors, they didn't have much to work with. This just stumbled into every single trap it could have stumbled into. The kicker? The *ending*...what the hell was that?

This was one of the most worthless movies I have ever seen. The acting was bad, the plot was worse, and the script was pathetic. The only thing remotely interesting was beautiful Lili Taylor. Too bad she was in such a dog of a movie.

It's a different kind of movie about coming of age. Dermot Mulroney is great as are most of the cast. Dermot Mulroney is a working-class, high school boy whose time to grow up has come.

Not a formula film in any way that I can tell. A great cast. Lili Taylor, Sam Shepard, Delroy Lindo, Mary Kay Place, Benjamin Bratt (not his best performance perhaps), Will Patton, Burt Young.

The ending was great, in my opinion. In fact, what said it all for me was at the end of the film, the change in the expression of Dermot Mulroney's face as he sat in the back of the pickup. I thought the acting was good. A strange movie, I grant you, but I feel it was well worth the watch.

I saw this movie a couple of years ago. Recently I picked up a copy not remembering I had already seen it. I was about 15 to 20 minutes into the film when it began looking familiar and I realized I had, ergo, why I say its not one you would remember. The plot was some what off beat and you wonder just how much trouble Dermot Mulroney's character can innocently get into; he seems to attract it like honey does flies. Growing up is part of life and it is seen some what here as a young man transitions into manhood, all be it, Mulroney was 28 when he played the part. Several actors did not appear to be of an age near the individual characters they portrayed; specifically, the mother and aunt of Mulroney's character. I found this somewhat distracting. While okay to watch once, I was not that thrilled the second time around.

I saw this film with two senior citizens; I'd picked it out from the video store -- which I did frequently for these friends. The husband was in his 80s, his wife her late 60s; both love the theater and have been active in local amateur productions. We all thought this film was exceptional -- in just about every way. Delroy Lindo has a typically rather small part (unfortunately) but manages to be breathtakingly captivating for every moment he's onscreen (also typical for him). But the maturity of the young man, the son who has just seen his parents break up in a rather nasty fashion -- that's what's so outstanding. His presence, his sense-of-self, his ability to steer his way through difficult situations into a growing awareness of what matters and what doesn't. Rarely are teenagers or young twenty-somethings given roles where this is shown. Finding one's way to maturity doesn't usually get such an honest treatment; maybe it's unappealing to teenagers to see it told without the usual Hollywood froo-frah of frat house parties, beer guzzling, and bimbos. Too bad. Yes, this does have a bit of that "play made into a movie" feel to it; but what a play, and what a movie, nonetheless. Hats off to Sam Shepard, and all the other actors and crew for this piece. Shepard himself is not onscreen much, but excellent in the opening as the hot-tempered father. We end up, as the film goes on, seeing Shepard through the character of the son, so much so, he seems to be in almost every scene. Just look in the young man's eyes, how he carries himself, how he appraises himself and others clearly and honestly, but without the usual teenage brashness of expression. He's more the strong, silent type. Maybe you have to be over 30 (I'm 47) to like/love this film. It's kind of a modern-day "noir" film -- except it's not a crime movie; more of an existentialist, Sartre "No Exit" type of work. But it's not exactly that bleak, either: the strength, the resolve of the son, as well as the damaged, semi-paranoid character played by Lindo -- both these men cannot be forgotten, and neither can ultimately be seen as tragic figures. The film's story texture allows for much richer evaluations; it may be raw, it may be rough, but you come away uplifted by what you've witnessed.