Reckless

I saw this film on Christmas Day in 2001 on PBS. Nine years to the day later it's still as vivid in my memory. After seeing it, as the credits started to roll, so did the tears down my face.

It surprises me that I never heard of this film when it came out as it's artistically a gem of a film. The acting is superb of very high caliber. It's got a twisted story in more ways than one, extremely compelling for those that appreciate a complex, tightly woven plot line.

If you have ever been betrayed by someone near/dear, this story will reach in on a visceral level and pull you in.

The overall message is powerful. It comes full circle from the extreme vulnerability to empowerment as it underscores the moral qualities and staying true to one's core values even in the face of overwhelming adversities.

My nephew is going through some hard times, I wish he could see this film today....

Merry Christmas!

This metaphorical story of a woman leaving her husband and coming to terms with the sadness in her life is filmed as if everything is a dream. Mia Farrow plays a truly epic character, and her strength in the role finally proves her more than a beautiful waif. Even the smallest elements are connected to the larger center of the picture, and no strange story is left unexplained. A real joy.

This is a movie that I cannot turn away from. Although I have seen it twice in its entirety, I have watched it several more times from the point at which I've stumbled upon it while channel surfing. It's truly a train wreck of a movie - from the claustrophobic scaled-down set of the marital home to the way that Mia Farrow's character becomes the unwitting victim of fate over and over. Although she is the protagonist, for me the story is also about the identity-seeking behaviors of all the supporting characters, their search for meaning and wholeness in their lives, the secrets they keep from each other and their perpetual estrangement and lack of intimacy... just like real life, only narrower and slightly more absurd. For anyone who has had experience with mental health practitioners, who couldn't relate to the parade of therapists projecting their own issues onto Rachel's character, and then validating themselves for helping her? Yes, overall "Reckless" is a sad story but its quirky comedic elements give it enough spice to make it a satisfying if not guilty pleasure.

I was going to be all apologetic for praising this film, but if you look at the ratings for this in detail you'll see that the MAJORITY of people give this film a rating of 5 and above. So how does IMDb arrive at its "weighted average" of 4.4? Ridiculous. Lots of '9's and '10's--and are we to think that all of those '5's, '6's, '7's, and '8's are put in to 'game the system'? Puh-lease.

The only thing that keeps this movie from being a '10' for me is the fact that it's crazy plot developments keep coming and coming and coming, with a ton of false endings. It gives you a headache.

But the utter brilliance of so much of this film--Deborah Rush as Trish the embezzler is, all on her own, worth the price of admission! The surprising twists with the Mary-Louise Parker character? The brilliant art direction, with its warped vision of our heroine's world as a winter wonderland in a snow globe gone mad? The plain old beauty of Stephen Dorff? There is A LOT to love about this movie. If you love movies, if you care about and are interested in movies as an art form, you will want to see this movie.

It's incredibly funny, it's beautiful, it's strange, it's wearying. It's not for everyone, but I wouldn't want to be everyone. If you're thoughtful, intelligent, and patient, you will appreciate the superb acting, film-making, and atmosphere this film provides.

Even though this was one of the strangest movies I have ever seen, it kept you wondering what could possibly happen next. I love most of Mary Louise Parker's performances and this was no different. She has the ability to bring so much to every character she plays. The movie follows Mia Farrow's character through various changes in her life and how she deals with each of them. It isn't an award winning movie by any means, but will make you think. I highly recommend it. I would have probably never stumbled across this movie if Tivo hadn't told me that Stephen Dorff was in it. Even though his part was very small I was glad that it brought me to the movie in the first place. I have to say that I'm happy to see that they are turning the movie into a Broadway play with Mary Louise Parker in the cast. I think it will be a must see.