The worst movie I've seen in a long time

Of my two overwhelming objections to this dreadful movie, one is addressed accurately and precisely, i.e. the use of Philip Glass's score. It is used here, to underscore every emotion, much the way 30's films did (often to their detriment). If this were an homage to such films, this would be acceptable, if not particularly enjoyable - the score is quite good, in my opinion, but, as used, it is ludicrous and painful to the audience.

But this film is not an homage. lt's a mishmosh of predictable stories. I love Juliette Moore, but she is lost at sea in her generic role. The only relief - briefly - were a few of the scenes with Meryl Streep and Ed Harris. Yet, although she's portrayed as a modern day Mrs. Dalloway, what modern day woman would watch her best friend plunge to his death - a hostile choice - and within a few hours pull herself together to turn her celebratory party for him into a memorial?

The second objection is the make-up nose for Nicole Kidman. My god, there are geniuses in the film industry. Wolfe had an incredibly distinctive nose - fine and regal and by turns could make her look homely or stunningly beautiful. Kidman's false nose looks like a 3-year-old slapped a blob of silly putty on the middle of her face. I am not exaggerating. Kidman is not a favorite of mine to begin with, but I couldn't even give her a chance due to this unseemly prosthesis. I had to look somewhere else during her scenes, much like one squints during the scary parts of a horror movie.
Having said all this, clearly a great deal of it has stuck in my mind, which speaks to a certain power of the film. But I'm afraid this is a negative power, much like having an advertisement jingle suck in one's head.

Omg, the most incredibly off-base review ever.

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The number one problem here is that you're looking for a cause for these character's depression and you won't find one, because depression doesn't always HAVE a cause.

"Oh, it's about this woman who's incredibly - well, she's a hostess and she's incredibly confident and she's going to give a party. And, maybe because she's confident, everyone thinks she's fine... but she isn't."

These people APPEAR to have everything together (you assume "Oh, she has a husband, a son, and a child on the way! Well, gee, she must be the happiest gal on the planet! What's she got to be so upset about?!") on the outside, but no one sees the completely misery on the inside.

As everyone else has replied, as will I, you know next to nothing about movies and this great one could have hit you in the face, apparently, and you wouldn't have realized that it is one of the best movies ever made.

I never comment on message boards but this is a must...

I interviewed the entire cast in NYC before the film's release at the film junket, and the positive energy, from all of them, at separate times of the day, was amazing. They loved making the movie, from the writers to the actors to Phillip Glass (the composer, who should have WON the Oscar), to the director, even though it was 'depressing' story.

Movies are supposed to MOVE people, and this movie not only moved people, 99.9999% who saw it, including my father who never sees movies, but has the power to movie mountains as well.

As for your point about not 'getting' why Julianne Moore's character was depressed... Go back and watch it again. Jesus Christ. She was depressed because she was a closet LESBIAN and couldn't live her life as one. That's the reason and it is apparent to anyone with half a brain cell, let alone a full, functioning brain.

I think it is quite obvious why Julianne's character is depressed and those reasons are quite valid. But regardless of that a person does not need to have a bad life or have something traumatic happen to them to trigger depression. It is a mental illness for a reason. Its all to do with brain chemistry and an imbalance of those chemicals can make a person become easily depressed or anxious for no apparent reason. But I think for Julianne, shes a repressed housewife, possibly a lesbian, who is not in love with her husband and obviously longing for a different life. Sounds like a good enough reason to be depressed to me.

Homer, you're dumb as a mule and twice as ugly. If a strange man offers you a ride, I say take it!

Than You simly didnt understand it. Its pshychological drama film its not Terms of Endearment. It focus sooo deep on what it takes to be happy..Why someone needs to die? Its message to otherr not to live and be happy for being alive but for real to live life as it should be. to be happy othervise that liofe is not worth..and story focuses on different woman and their so called living but not living just being trapped... we people are weird creatures.

Although I disagree with your reasons for your thinking that this film is incomprehensible, I still agree with you in the sense that the pace is agonizingly slow (and I am NOT a fan of slam-bang action films, but this was too much!).

I kept waiting for something to HAPPEN and basically, nothing DID! Some directors, like Sofia Coppola in "Lost in Translation" can get away with this technique, but not so here. We are not dealing with some fading actor's trip to Tokyo (much as I loved that!), but a woman's entire life...nay!...THREE women's lives! You can't just stall the car at the intersection, have NOTHING HAPPEN and go on as if all is well!

For me, the only saving grace, though it made things MORE depressing, was the wonderful score by Philip Glass, based (I think) on his work "Metamorphosis". If you had had a composer less attuned to the sheer misery of these three women, then the film would have suffered greatly and I've no doubt we would all be sitting around wondering, "What was the big deal, anyway?"!

Just my take on it, but I expected more from three such amazing actresses. I blame the script.

Nothing is what it seems. Everything is a test. Rule #1: Don't...get...caught.