Droit à l'absence

Well acted but a very shallow script.Brian Deneheny doesn't get much to work with and his interaction with the vibrant Jackie Bissett is uneven The premise of an affair with a dying woman holds lots of promise for a deep and satisfying plot. However, it just floats on obvious developments and ends in a whimper.

I really can't stand how TV-movies continue to generate these virtually terrible, immoral characters and expect people to like them. This makes no sense to me. These people would not be receiving any sort of a reward for their behavior in reality, so please don't subject audiences to stories about them!

The character of disgust is played by Brian Dennehey, of all people. He is a middle-aged man with a wife (Blythe Danner) and a daughter in her late teens (Noelle Parker) and his life seems fairly happy right now, as he lives each day with the family and even gets to go to work with his daughter, who works with him at a museum (?). Unfortunately, she is not the only woman working for him. There is another woman, an architect called Nell. Nell likes Brian, Brian likes Nell, and they began a torid, but secret affair...until Nell is stricken with cancer. Now Dennehey can no longer keep his affair a secret. Not only does he tell his wife and daughter about his loving Nell, he drops another bomb shell by announcing that he wants to LIVE WITH HER until she dies...and then he plans to return home as though nothing has happened!

Dennehey's character is faced with much resistance from Danner and Parker, of course, but he nevertheless goes and starts to live with Nell, who is getting worse. In fact, Nell's health becomes so poor in such a short time that one can almost feel sorry for her, and even feel glad for Dennehey...if he had not done what he did to his family. However, judging fron how much time Dennehey and Nell receive, I think the audience is supposed to ACCEPT what Dennehey has done, and hope that his family will let him back when Nell returns. I don't think so!

I get tired of the immoral plots of much TV-movies, and this is no exception. What's even worse is that MOST immoral characters in TVM's are seen as villains, and this one goes and makes their guy a hero? Who ARE the writers of this movie?

Generally enjoy B. Dennehy as an actor, although I believe he plays a better cop than he does a creep. While I am no stiff-neck, I find it hard to indulge creeps. Family values, in the conventional not the political code-word sense, take a beating in the core of this film. Things appeared to be going fine, the characters were becoming more interesting up to when Brian slipped on Nell's banana peel. From that point on events become less convincing and more contrived much as when accidents are staged with the same peel.

Good acting for the most part, but not much of a script. Tim Lounibos gives a wonderful understated performance. Brian Dennehy makes the most of his role. Blythe Danner was very good. Jacqueline Bisset was good, but could use a good hair conditioner. The plot is typical movie of the week. I did enjoy seeing the performers named as well as Jessica Water and Tonea Stewart. Watch it for the acting rather than the plot.

I really am not sure what the self acclaimed 'morality police' are doing here (lol) but I saw this movie completely differently.

Here is a situation that moves us and asks us to explore the frailty and imperfections in human relationships. There are two lines in the movie that I found poignant - 'A relationship is an idea' and 'Some people just fit'.

The word,'immoral', that has been quoted on this review list several times is an objective word. This movie is an intelligent, thinking person's film. It explores love, relationships, commitment and how things are not always black and white; and as much as we try to deny it, it may be possible to love two people at the same time. I am also tempted to quote John Lennon - 'Life is what happens to you when you're busy making other plans'.

Personally I would much rather watch an exploration of the human psyche in relationships than murder (which is a subject I believe of many Brian Dennehy films).

I must also comment on the 'spoiler' that was in one of the reviews on here about the end of the movie. I won't comment on the ending as the other reviewer did as I don't wish to ruin it for anyone but I will say that I saw the ending in a different light to what the other reviewer did so don't let it 'spoil' the movie for you.