Oscar nominations:i) Performance by an Actor in a supporting role: Jackie Earle Haley
ii) Performance by an Actress in a Leading role: Kate Winslet
iii) Adapted Screenplay
My one sentence synopsis: Like an episode from Desperate Housewives but minus the humour, a desperate, lonely housewife, Sarah (Winslet) strikes up a conversation with desperate, lonely house-husband, Brad (Patrick Wilson) one day at the playground and plenty of romance and hot sex(!!!) ensues.
You should watch it because --
i) The ever talented and beautiful Winslet (her fifth oscar nomination!) once again shows why she is entirely deserving of an Oscar. Every nuance of voice, facial expression and little gesture, reverberates with sheer power of emotion and feeling... the actresses on Desperate Housewives ought to be ashamed of themselves!
ii) there's a couple of side stories involving Ronnie (Haley), a sex offender previously convicted of flashing his privates to a minor and an ex-cop, Larry (Noah Emmerich), who is still dealing with the trauma of forced early retirement. Their paths, with that of the principle characters, intersect at some points of the film, resulting in a series of momentous events. Moreover, the interweaving plot strands give the film such a rich and vibrant whole that audiences will leave the cinema with a sense of having witnessed a great film of substance. No kidding!
iii) Jackie Earle Haley is sooooo convincing as a sex pervert but he also manages to imbue his character with an air of melancholic gravity and placidity. It's not often you'd root for a "bad guy" but by film's end, you will definitely grow to empathise with his character.
iv) And if all the aforementioned points do not motivate you, then how about a couple of lurid love scenes involving the two main leads? LOL. Winslet has never been too shy to bare all in her films, and she and Patrick shared a few scenes together sans their clothes. Exciting, huh? :p
You should NOT watch it because --
At over two hours, the film unfolds at a pretty languid pace. But it's all worth it!
Oscar moments: There's quite a handful so I shall only mention a couple which I like best; the scene where Winslet's character, Sarah, analyses the protagonist in Gustav Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary at a book-club reading. And the climatic finale when Ronnie breaks down in anguish after realising finally that he has lost the only person in the world who had cared about him.
my ratings: 4.5 stars!!!
