Really pales in comparison to the book.

I'm a huge Pat Conroy fan who can't put down any of his books, and I couldn't even finish this movie. True, it is difficult to condense a book down into two hours of film, but capturing and condensing the essence of the book is the screenwriters' art. I noted with interest that it was Conroy himself who wrote the screenplay - maybe he should stick to novels and let professional screenwriters make the conversion to film. Additionally, the acting was absolutely atrocious. I could cast this movie better in my sleep. I could see Nick Nolte as a truck driver, but not an English teacher. His attempt at a southern accent completely destroyed Tom's character. Even worse was Barbara Streisand - what happened to the beautiful, sexy, intelligent psychiatrist from the novel? Streisand needs to be banned from the screen forever unless she's playing an obnoxious, nasally stereotypical Jewish mother (read: Meet the Fockers). Lowenstein is supposed to be a sex symbol in the book, and I would rather have intercourse with a cheese grater than Streisand. Pat, stick to novels, and leave the screenwriting to the professionals. Whoever cast this movie, find another line of work.