This movie reeks of personal touches ... and the depth of Paul Haggis is all over the screenplay.
A boy who is taken away from his mother for 'the best interest of the child', dies while in custody of his father who was supposed to be the better, safer parent.
The father Michael, Liam Neeson's character, writes a book about this, involving his ex-wife Elaine (the character of Kim Bassinger) and his troubled mistress Anna (the character of Olivia Wilde).
The characters of Adrian Brody and James Franco are fragments of the writer, as are the characters of Mila Kunis and Maria Bello fragments of his wife's.
While James Franco and Mila Kunis' story narrates the child custody phase of Michael and Elaine, the story of Adrian Brody seems to be the part of his life when Michael is in Rome after his son's death and gets caught up in trying to save the life of Monika's daughter, as if in redemption.
The three stories tie up neatly at the end, leaving us with the hope for a better tomorrow for Michael and Elaine, in the face of their personal tragedy, due to ego and power during the custody battle.
The movie is a metaphor for the legal system and its tragic consequences. Despite the erratic mental conditions, the characters maintain their dignity and composure.
It is not a movie for an audience who are not exposed to festival films or foreign films and those who are expecting a simple, linear, crash-type storyline.
A boy who is taken away from his mother for 'the best interest of the child', dies while in custody of his father who was supposed to be the better, safer parent.
The father Michael, Liam Neeson's character, writes a book about this, involving his ex-wife Elaine (the character of Kim Bassinger) and his troubled mistress Anna (the character of Olivia Wilde).
The characters of Adrian Brody and James Franco are fragments of the writer, as are the characters of Mila Kunis and Maria Bello fragments of his wife's.
While James Franco and Mila Kunis' story narrates the child custody phase of Michael and Elaine, the story of Adrian Brody seems to be the part of his life when Michael is in Rome after his son's death and gets caught up in trying to save the life of Monika's daughter, as if in redemption.
The three stories tie up neatly at the end, leaving us with the hope for a better tomorrow for Michael and Elaine, in the face of their personal tragedy, due to ego and power during the custody battle.
The movie is a metaphor for the legal system and its tragic consequences. Despite the erratic mental conditions, the characters maintain their dignity and composure.
It is not a movie for an audience who are not exposed to festival films or foreign films and those who are expecting a simple, linear, crash-type storyline.