Reckless

This is a movie that I cannot turn away from. Although I have seen it twice in its entirety, I have watched it several more times from the point at which I've stumbled upon it while channel surfing. It's truly a train wreck of a movie - from the claustrophobic scaled-down set of the marital home to the way that Mia Farrow's character becomes the unwitting victim of fate over and over. Although she is the protagonist, for me the story is also about the identity-seeking behaviors of all the supporting characters, their search for meaning and wholeness in their lives, the secrets they keep from each other and their perpetual estrangement and lack of intimacy... just like real life, only narrower and slightly more absurd. For anyone who has had experience with mental health practitioners, who couldn't relate to the parade of therapists projecting their own issues onto Rachel's character, and then validating themselves for helping her? Yes, overall "Reckless" is a sad story but its quirky comedic elements give it enough spice to make it a satisfying if not guilty pleasure.

This metaphorical story of a woman leaving her husband and coming to terms with the sadness in her life is filmed as if everything is a dream. Mia Farrow plays a truly epic character, and her strength in the role finally proves her more than a beautiful waif. Even the smallest elements are connected to the larger center of the picture, and no strange story is left unexplained. A real joy.

I was going to be all apologetic for praising this film, but if you look at the ratings for this in detail you'll see that the MAJORITY of people give this film a rating of 5 and above. So how does IMDb arrive at its "weighted average" of 4.4? Ridiculous. Lots of '9's and '10's--and are we to think that all of those '5's, '6's, '7's, and '8's are put in to 'game the system'? Puh-lease.

The only thing that keeps this movie from being a '10' for me is the fact that it's crazy plot developments keep coming and coming and coming, with a ton of false endings. It gives you a headache.

But the utter brilliance of so much of this film--Deborah Rush as Trish the embezzler is, all on her own, worth the price of admission! The surprising twists with the Mary-Louise Parker character? The brilliant art direction, with its warped vision of our heroine's world as a winter wonderland in a snow globe gone mad? The plain old beauty of Stephen Dorff? There is A LOT to love about this movie. If you love movies, if you care about and are interested in movies as an art form, you will want to see this movie.

It's incredibly funny, it's beautiful, it's strange, it's wearying. It's not for everyone, but I wouldn't want to be everyone. If you're thoughtful, intelligent, and patient, you will appreciate the superb acting, film-making, and atmosphere this film provides.

Mia Farrow is terrific as the runaway mom who slides out a window on Christmas Eve, after her husband contracts a hit-man to kill her. Thus begins a Christmas "black comedy" that ranks way up there on the strange scale. Farrow's predicament doesn't seem to alter her always pleasant and forgiving disposition. There are at least a bunch of messages hidden throughout the chaotic storyline that unfolds. Scott Glenn takes Farrow home to live with his paraplegic wife, Mary Louise Parker, where all three do an excellent job of keeping dark secrets from each other. The remainder of the film is a series of random events, that do little to crystallize the bizarre goings on. "Reckless" would best be appreciated by the "midnight movie" crowd, to whom it seems perfectly suited. Perhaps a midnight Christmas Eve showing? - MERK

Saw this film on TV. I liked the film. It was quirky and interesting. I haven't seen very many like it. Definitely not your run-of-the-mill.