| To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday | | Cast : | Peter Gallagher, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes | | Director : | Michael Pressman | | Studio : | Columbia Tristar Hom | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Full Screen | | Released Date : | October 18, 1996 | | DVD Released Date : | March 23, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | April 28, 2005 | | Summary | Love and Loss-The most powerful emotions | Content
 | This is a fantastic film, from the writing to directing to the score to the acting. Peter Gallagher is superb in conveying the torment and guilt felt by a widowed husband. This is a situation that occurs all over the world all the time-losing a loved one is probably the most trying event that any person can ever go through. It's perfectly paced. David Kelley is such a great writer, it's just a joy to let him take you on this ride.
People compare this film to the play too much. They're completely different, theater is much more dialogue, film much more visual. I read the play after seeing the movie first, and although I'm always tainted by what I see first, I still feel the film is better. The characters aren't shallow in the film-they're just what's needed for how many of them there are.
I can't imagine what it's like to lose someone you love. I'm sure I will someday, but after watching this film you'll see how it can drive someone nearly mad trying to move on with their lives. A beautiful achievement. |
| Rating | | | Date | September 27, 2004 | | Summary | He knows she's dead | Content
| Here's the thing about this movie: He knows she's dead. A lot of the other reviewers here seem to forget that he acknowledges she's dead but that doesn't matter. She is dead but not gone. For some people, that statement sounds like some kind of sacchrine line to calm children. Sometimes it's the truth, though, and that's what this movie is about.
The movie does take itself seriously, but the subject IS serious. This is a solid movie, it's not a great film. Taking yourself seriously is not the same as claiming greatness. David Kelly is a capable director and the cast has chemistry and participate in the telling of a good story. That's it. It's a good story, and a fine film. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 11, 2004 | | Summary | Great Subject - Medeocre Exicution | Content
| If you don't analyze this movie, it's great. But if you do, you realize that it's not more than a series of emotional triggers. It is one of my favorite movies because I can relate to some of the subject matter, but if you do analyze it, you can quickly see that the reason the story doesn't flow very well is because they were trying to hard to strike such a wide variety of emotional chords, the story-telling suffered and became shallow. If you want to see a good emotional drama that will have some appeal to just about everyone, this is the movie for you. If you are going to analize it, you'll be dissapointed. It's a great story and has a great cast, but something is missing. That said, if you just want some emotional heroin, watch this movie. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 08, 2003 | | Summary | Great acting and deep emotions make this a must see! | Content
| This film is very moving. It will remind any viewer not to take their loved ones for granted. The film gets you thinking about how to prepare and makes you ask yourself, how will I react when I lose the love of my life. Enjoy! |
| Rating | | | Date | August 06, 2003 | | Summary | Disappointing | Content
| First of all, for the caliber of actors in this movie, they deserved a better script. Michelle Pfeifer and Peter Gallagher are class acts, but really this movie just did not dig deep enough. I have read all the rave reviews of Claire Danes, as I have read all the raves in the past and I am beside myself. I mean she has mastered the part of the proverbial angst-ridden pouting teenager to a tee. If this is her niche, so be it. The premise of the story is pretty decent -- a man loses his wife in a tragic freak accident and has a hard time moving on. Completely understandable. Then his annoying sister in law and her equally annoying husband arrive and proceed to berate the poor guy for mooning over a wife that is dead. Oh my god, stop the presses. These people had the sensitivity of androids. It would have been nice to see him kick these people out of the house, but then the film would'nt drone on and on, This is a good film for a rainy day. But I expected more. |
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