(originally posted at a discussion board, but I learned it should have been posted here instead)
I had caught a half an hour of this film about a month ago, and thought it looked like a pretty interesting story, so I had filed it away for future reference, intending to rent it someday to watch the rest. I was tickled to receive it as my first 'spout mavens' screener last weekend. I was initially drawn to this movie by Maggie Cheung, who I had enjoyed in 'In the Mood For Love' and 'Hero' and 'Days of Being Wild', but it is really Nick Nolte, in his small but pivotal role as her dead husband's grieving but levelheaded father who really stuck a chord with me. His gruff no-nonsense but fair minded portrayal felt real and believable in a down-to-earth manner. Nick Nolte has long made a career of turning in 'better than necessary' performances in otherwise forgettable movies (North Dallas Forty, 48 Hrs, The Hulk) with occassional flirts with greatness (Affliction), and it is always nice to see his lined and weathered face and hear his gravelly voice. I was less than impressed with the remainder of the movie, however. The beginning felt awkward and contrived, especially an early scene where a bunch of peripheral characters sum up the 'backstory' for the audience, and while I really wanted to sympathize with Emily, the performance felt a bit cold and detached, and the 'backstage show biz' setting didn't help. Other than a few 'desperately searching for drugs' scenes and a couple swoons, you didn't really feel the desperate struggle she must have gone through in order to kick the habit. The best part of the movie, it turns out, I had already seen, in the final half an hour, where Emily tries to reaquaint herself with her son, and has to explain her past to him, and make a hard decision about getting her life back on track. One thing I was impressed with in this film, is the sober approach to drugs and addiction, from a user's standpoint, rather than the oversimplified reactionary 'just say no' attitude of those in the quote unquote "War on Drugs".