MeanderingMegan

I went to see this movie with such high expectations. The trailer was great, The Sixth Sense was awesome and my hopes were that M. Night would live up to the same high standard on this film. Sadly though, he didn't. The subject matter was juicy, the possibilities were endless, and although I did scream a couple of times in my seat, the movie never gave the payoff that one waits for in a stellar film. Gibson was great, no fault on his part, as was Joaquin Phoenix and the two kids, but the film seemed to missing something in the equation that took it out of the league of exceptional and into the category of a near miss. After having looked forward to seeing this film for a month, it was a letdown. That being said, it's still a better summer movie than most other choices and certainly seemed to satisfy a lot of other audience members - my advice, see it on a weekend afternoon when you've got some extra time on your hands to kill.

Looking Through Lillian was an awesome viewing experience. I saw it at the Cinequest Film Festival earlier this year while down in CA. After watching a host of other indies there, I was losing hope on seeing something comparable to what I see in an Art House Theater or on IFC and then bumped into this flick. For the host of other movies that I wasted my money on seeing, this one made up for the whole experience. The humanity of the film and it's lead character and the truth of a flawed world full of flawed people was so refreshing to see in a film. Movies are supposed to be about extraordinary things happening to extraordinary people, but what seems to get forgotten is that extraordinary doesn't necessarily mean the sinking of the Titanic or the presence of Superman. Ordinary people have extraordinary moments and this film acknowledges that. That being said, this film also deals with the fact that perhaps nobody is ordinary when it comes to the standard definition of the word. We are all unique in our dysfunctions, yearnings, problems and backgrounds. So perhaps the big connection to this film was that while the film dealt with a very specific reality not known to all of us, it does deal with most of us on a different level. Our vices may not be the same or our problems, but emotions are universal as are our psychological difficulties and because of that Looking Through Lillian leaves one with much to grasp, much to ponder and an overwhelming number of emotions and feelings - and questions. Hats off to the people involved in this film, especially the writers for creating Gene and Lillian. And hats off to the two actors who decided to have the balls to tackle these two roles.

A strong recommend if you like quality indie filmmaking.

A compelling film. This film really touched my heart. While the film is certainly far from perfect, I thought it dealt wonderfully with the subject matter and showed such a sensitivity towards not only victims of violence but also towards how scars incurred in childhood can mar us forever.

Gabriel Mann was awesome in this. He gave the role such a conscience and it was nice to see him used fully as an actor as opposed to his rather less than full role in 'High Art' (which I happen to love nonetheless). But whereas High Art was Radha Mitchell and Ally Sheedy's film, this film really, for me, belonged to Mann. Kim Dickens did a great job also, but Mann still takes top billing in my book. My hat off to Allison Anders - it's nice to know that there are filmmakers out there that are not so concerned with commercialism as they are with substance and exploration. The fact that it says that the film is semi-autobiographical just makes me applaud her more. If you're into character studies and the way the past effects ones life, this is a movie worth seeing.