O Poder do Amor

1st watched 1/18/2003 - 7 out of 10(Dir-Lasse Hallstrom): Well-played drama about being in love, making mistakes, and trying to stay in love. This is a heart-breaking movie to watch because it is so much like real life and it is played out so well by those involved. The Direction by Hallstrom is magnificent because of the way he lets the story do the talking and doesn't hurry us to conclusions. Basically, this is a story about a woman(Julia Roberts) who finds out that her husband(Dennis Quaid) is cheating on her and then everything gets mixed up from this point on. There are many other relationships that are also very vital to the story just like they would be in real life. There are parents(who struggle with some of the same things), there is a sister(who tries to lend a helping hand) and there is a child in the middle of everything just trying to survive. By the end, we believe that everything is going to be all right but it is very obvious that much damage has been done. Roberts is superb as usual and everyone plays out their parts very believably. This is one of those movies that is one of a kind, but not one you'd want to watch very often for it hits deep within our souls(especially those who have gone thru similar experiences) and therefore I think it failed when released because the exec's didn't know how to sell it to make money but none-the-less it is a classic in my book on relationships. The choice of the title also didn't make sense because the song really has nothing to do with the movie. Again, I think this was a marketing mistake and not the filmmakers.

When it comes to directors like Lasse Hallström, I always expect maximum, best, masterpiece. After movies that he made back in Finland and brilliant "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" I think that my expectations were justified. Sadly, this movie came just behind Gilbert so I can live with one mediocre movie after a huge success with Gilbert and then later movie like "The Cider House Rules", "Chocolat"...

Hallström likes to make family movies, where he can expose the whole family with all their pluses and minuses. In this case, story was written by Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise), typical 'women are always good' writer. In the middle of the story we've got Grace Bichon (Julia Roberts), who founds out that her husband Eddie (Dennis Quaid) is unfaithful. With her daughter, she decides to come back home at ranch. There she must face her traditional father Wyly (Robert Duvall) and mother Georgia (Gena Rowlands), who seems to be doing whatever Wyly wants. The only person who fully understands her is her sister Emma Rae (Kyra Sedgwick).

I disagree that there is nothing to talk about in this movie. Yes, this movie has some obvious problems: the script is not brilliant which is mostly seen in situations that we've all seen before and characters like Eddie, Wyly and Georgia are written on a way that there is nothing for actors to act. But all Hallström characters are alive (you can identify with them) and about family problems that are presented in this movie there is plenty to talk about. For example, what strong woman like Grace does when she's cheated, how to explain her young daughter that her dad isn't living with them any more; the whole relationship of Bichon's after infidelity. On the other hand, we've got relationship between two sisters, between Wyly and Georgia King and so on. So we've got plenty stuff to talk about only if you think about it for a while. What this script lacks is quality writing of male characters. Duvall's and Quaid's characters are simply not developed enough.

About acting part, I must admit that Julia Roberts is very good in this role, just like Kyra Sedgwick and Brett Cullen (his character is the only male character that is made right). Duvall, Rowlands & Quaid have nothing to act, like I said before. But I read one comment that says that Duvall shouldn't act in any movie. That is what made me angry so I had to write it. Man is a screen and stage legend!

So to end, if you can watch this family drama about marriage, infidelity and love. It's not the best choice coming from Hallström but it's a bearable one.

Sterling cast, featuring not only Julia Roberts and Dennis Quaid but also Robert Duvall, Gena Rowlands and Kyra Sedgwick, in a handsomely-made but rather ordinary, women's TV-type light drama (with barbed language added). Roberts plays harried working mom down South who discovers husband Quaid has been unfaithful; they fight, discuss divorce, fight some more, while Roberts gets advice from her well-to-do parents (they ponder the situation when the answers should be obvious). Pleasant cast nearly masks the fact this is completely rote material (with Sedgwick as Roberts' p.o.'ed sister who gets in the proverbial crotch kick). Pokey, overly-familiar, overlong film with too few laughs and too much inane banter. Photographed by the famous Sven Nykvist, who indeed gives the picture a rich, glossy look. ** from ****

This time it is the man who is unfaithful but the ending is different. When we watched "A Walk on The Moon", "Unfaithful" and "The Bridges of Madison County" we saw three married women have torrid affairs but who were portrayed as sympathetic characters. They ended up staying with their husbands (though the husband in "Unfaithful" probably ended up in prison) while still in love with the men with whom they committed adultery. The husbands who were aware of their wives unfaithfulness, and the one who didn't, all opted to "stand by their women" and were portrayed as being at fault by virtue of working too hard and not paying enough attention to the wives.

But here the shoe is on the other foot. The husband is the one who strays and he is portrayed as being at fault, even though his wife has become distant and unresponsive to him. The double standard is obvious. Kyra Sedgwick was by far the most enjoyable character in the film. She was outstanding as the protective sister of betrayed Julia Roberts. The b*ll kicking scene is painful, but funny. I really liked her and will be looking for more of her work in the future.

The setting is a horse farm that is ruled over by the patriarch played by Robert Duvall. Grace is his assistant manager and carries much of the load. Her husband (Dennis Quaid) is caught cheating on her and she moves out of their bedroom to her sisters apartment. Though her husband is truly repentant and struggles to get her back she is unrelenting and eventually returns to school and we are left wondering if there is ever a reunion. I enjoyed the movie but was struck by the difference in the treatment of male infidelity versus that of the female. I give it a 7/10.

Grace Bichon (Julia Roberts) seems to have a happy life with husband Eddie (Dennis Quaid) and daughter Caroline. She dutifully does work with the other wives in the Charity League and runs her father's horse stable. Then she catches Eddie with his mistress on the streets. She leaves with her daughter to stay with her father Wyly King (Robert Duvall), mother Georgia (Gena Rowlands), and sister Emma Rae King (Kyra Sedgwick). There is a horse jumping Grand Prix coming up. As the couple toys with divorce, Grace is pursued by a suitor. Her parents push her to stay in her marriage and her sister joins her in anger.

How one takes this movie depends on how one views cheating. The standard female empowerment would require the wife to overcome the cheating husband and find a new man or find her inner self. This one takes a different tact and it could annoy some people. The actors are solid. Their rom-com personna may not fit the more complicated take on cheating.