The Patron Saint of Liars

Two hours of my life, thrown away!

The story of a coward who broke hearts! Nothing to learn from this drivel, no moral of the story, just two hours of blahhh.

Recently this movie was on Lifetime. It is about a woman who leaves her husband for no reason when she becomes pregnant. She goes into hiding to give up her child at a convent. The story gives no apparent reason for her running away until the very ending, which makes no sense. She then marries again, while still married to her first husband, to the grounds keeper, Clancy Brown. She decides to keep her baby and lives in a separate home from her husband and child at the convent. Years go by of the couple living apart and the child grows up thinking her mother doesn't love and care for her. Then after a mail incident, her first husband finds her and comes looking for his wife, which of course he is still in love with. Then the story finally unwinds and we find out why this woman runs from her family, which of course is very weak, and leaves the viewer full of questions that are never answered. I watched this whole story to find out the reasoning of a religious event that happens in the first 5 minutes of the movie with a sick child becoming well after a spring of water appears out of the ground, at the very end of the movie the spring appears again, when the lady who runs stops running, I don't see how the 2 relate to the story line that seemed to be full of holes, and how a woman can leave her child and have that child have peace suddenly at the end of the movie is a bit to far fetched for me! I would not waste my time with this movie. One of the worst I have seen.

This film isn't as useless as many of the reviewers here are writing, in my opinion. I enjoyed it, and I especially fell in love with Clancy Brown's character. He was patient, understanding, loyal, and loving.... he was SO good and believable in this role, it's the one I think of him in the most often now. I believe Clancy is more like this character than any of the others he's played.

No, they didn't explain the lead character's issues or motivations very well, but aren't many people intriguing and inexplicable in some (or many) ways? I think you can enjoy this film if you also pay special attention to the stories and characters around her. Ellen Burstyn is always a first-class actor. All of the supporting cast and characters are rich, interesting, and easy to understand. I enjoyed the movie and I'll watch it again, I'm sure, when I have an opportunity.

Clancy Brown was WONDERFUL. I wanted to marry him myself!

Ann Patchett's book is much better but as movie adaptations go this is fine. It is worth watching just to see the great Sada Thompson as Sister Evangeline. That doesn't mean the other actors aren't fine it is just that Sada stands out. People may wonder why Dana Delaney sets off for Kentucky. I read the book so long ago I don't know if this was gone into. There is also fine work from Clancy Brown who plays Mr. Niceguy. A far cry from the demonic minister he played on two seasons of HBO'S CARNIVALE. The featured players are good too. Filmed on location in North Carolina which probably comes close to Kentucky where the story takes place. Read the book and watch the movie and see why Sada Thompson is one of America's finest actresses.

Confused.....purchased this film as a Dana Delany fan and by the end I had no idea why or what was motivating this film?! I was enjoying the story and characters until I realized there was no explanation for this woman's actions or development to the back story of any of the characters!

Frustrating to the point of purchasing the book, to try and gain some clarity of the characters motivations.

Delany was enjoyable however her character was unlikeable and the film left me needing a part 2...no real conclusion or explanation :/

I recommend maybe reading the novel first....I think coming into it some knowledge of a back story and character development will make it a bit more enjoyable!