The Girl in the Park
September. 09,2007 RA mother, enduringly traumatized by the disappearance of her three-year old daughter 15 years ago, has cut herself off from her ex-husband and son. However, when a troubled young woman with a checkered past enters her life, old psychic wounds painfully resurface, as does the illogical and increasingly irrational hope that the young woman may be the daughter she lost so long ago.
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Save your money for something good and enjoyable
It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.
This movie is one that I have watched many times, often with a cup of tea. I'd say this movie is for those who want to watch something full of suspense, drama and questions.I could re-watch this constantly yet for some I can see that it can be considered to be too 'slow' for certain audiences.The movie was well done by the various actors and actresses and its obvious that a lot of research was prepared before the final publication of the movie - such as the emotions to do with bereavement, not knowing the truth and not being able to let go of the past.It's well worth a watch!
What a surprise. Collipol's comments were right on. I guess people either hated this or loved it. I think it's really about how much we all want love fulfilled, how we cope with catastrophic loss, how far we are willing to go to fill that empty space, and how far the people who love us are willing to support us. Weaver made a wonderful transition from happy mom to a cold, disconnected woman, and back and forth again. Any woman with a "favorite child" or a personal and crippling loss can empathize - but I am astounded by the story and the performances.The young woman who suckers Weaver is off-putting at first, an instant irritant, but by the end of the movie you really want her to love her new "mom" and you really want Weaver to have the daughter she never got to grow up with. It doesn't matter anymore whether she is or she isn't for reals, they become what they both want. Several scenes touched me so deeply I was stunned. It would have been so easy to make this a thriller, or maudlin, or predictable, but the director did not. It was engaging, mysterious, warm, frightening, very sad, sweet, and very deeply moving. The end was perfect; subtle and let you absorb it all on your own. I thoroughly enjoyed every performance - they all were extremely well thought out, well executed, beautifully written and they all added together for a delicate and meaningful story. Do it again! Please.
Some people suppose that since I am a fan of cinema,I also gotta be a fan of theatre,but it is not like that.I do not hate the theatre and I appreciate all the effort coming from the scenic art,but for some reason,all the plays I went to see did not leave me very satisfied,because I felt on them that the playwrights thought that the the most important characteristic of theatre would be enough for compensating the various fails from their plays.The characteristic I am obviously talking about is the presence of actors on live.There is an undeniable energy which flows between interpreters and spectators,which makes the drama more immediate and the emotions more intense.What I want to say is that although the presence of the actors on live may make the experience more cathartic,many playwrights use that as an excuse for presenting weak and predictable stories.The movie The Girl in the Park is based on a play,and maybe because of that I did not expect too much from it,because without the presence of the actors on live,I thought we would only have a weak story.Fortunately,that did not happen and I finished liking this movie pretty much.This movie represents the first work as a director from playwright David Auburn,who wrote the original play.He had already been involved on cinema,adapting one of his plays to the film Proof and writing the screenplay from The Lake House.And,most recently,he has had a pretty solid debut as a director with The Girl in the Park,at the same time he also made a good work as a screenwriter on it.The Girl in the Park brought me a satisfactory and very interesting experience.The best element from it is definitely the excellent performance from Sigourney Weaver.She perfectly depicts the emotional evolution from her character,and she is absolutely involved on it.Kate Bosworth,Alessandro Nivola and Keri Russell also bring competent performances,although they feel a bit darkened by Weaver.And,although he is on a small role,the great David Rasche brings a detailed and solid performance.The movie keeps a good tone and the story is always interesting.The fails I found on this movie are the following : on the one hand,some moments from the screenplay could have had more elaboration; and on the other hand,the ending feels a bit abrupt.There have been various cases of playwrights who make very competent works on cinema on the directing and screen writing fields.Movies like Doubt,Yes and Titus are examples of that.The Girl in the Park is a new addition to that list,and in sight of it,I am definitely interested in watching more movies written and directed by Auburn.I recommend this movie,because I found it to be an entertaining and pretty interesting drama.
I was really excited when I saw The Girl in the Park DVD on the shelf at my local video store. I really liked Keri Russell in Felicity and the story, about how a mother copes with the disappearance of her daughter looked interesting too. However, that was the last time I felt good about this movie. The script, while based on an intriguing premise, is slow and unrealistic. Sigourney Weaver as the mother and Kate Bosworth play flawed characters that are utterly unlike able. The scenes are drawn out and the one moment where there could have been some action is cut, leaving the events up to the audience's imagination. In fact too much of the movie is left to the audience and whilst I don't mind doing some of the work you expect the director and scriptwriter to do their parts too. My advice is, despite the stellar cast, leave this one alone, it is drivel!!!!