Frank W:

Excellent performances by Frank Langhella, Lauren Ambrose and Lili Taylor enliven a rather dull but well-written script about a young graduate student who believes her master's thesis can resurrect the career of an aging author. A bit pretentious and very, very "art-house", but if you can stick with it, it's actually quite rewarding. Character and dialogue driven, so no action but plenty of drama. The subject matter will be better suited for book-hounds, authors and literary types, but lovers of well-crafted drama will certainly find it interesting too.

JB Seriously 55:

Exceeded my expecations. In my opinion this ws Frank Langella's finest films. Several relationships involving four people intertwined until resolution. Langella's father/dauther relationship finally opened up and they talked about their true feelings about their lives. Different generations and different thought processes. Using others and tossing them out when one's needs are met. Many issues are touched upon and handled in realistic manners. Langella was superb. (1/9/09)

VJ Purplequeen:

I am partial to stories about writers and writing, so I enjoyed this look at an aging writer and his life and rated it a star higher than it probably deserves. The story was interesting, although it seemed rather implausible in the character of the young graduate student. I just never did understand her motivations. I mean I could understand her interest in the writer's work, but in intimacy? Seemed really far fetched to me and inserted merely to give the story some sexual tension that it really didn't need. I did, however, very much enjoy the stories and interactions of the other three main characters: the writer, his daughter and her love. Their interactions certainly worked for me. I think the acting was good, but the story flawed. Still, I enjoyed the discussions and debates about writing, and the ending beginning for the writer.

lastliberal:

I would be beneficial to all of us if we would write a couple of novels during our life. Leonard Schiller (Frank Langella) had written four and was struggling on a fifth. He couldnt understand why he was not making progress. Given that our characters in the novels are taken from our lives, maybe his life had just become too uninteresting. It would also be nice to have some young, energetic graduate student decide to write their Masters Thesis on our work. Especially if they were as attractive as Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under). Who wouldnt want a hot 28-year-old paying attention to you when you life is pretty much over? Besides bringing a little excitement into a dull life, this young literary critic can also point out the changes in your writing and cause you to examine your life and why you are not getting anywhere on that 5th novel. Psychotherapy can achieve the same results, but a writers thoughts and feelings are there open for examination. You dont have to drag it out, you just have to have them admit that there was something that changed and reveal what it was. This dance between writer and critic was slow and methodical, much like psychoanalysis. It was fascinating to watch as the relationship between the two revealed the problem. There was a spillover, of course, as his own 40-year-old daughter was having relationship problems of her own. Lili Taylor (Pecker, High Fidelity, The Notorious Betty Page, Six Feet Under) was magnificent as she grew in her relationship. Watching this film is not unlike doing couples therapy. You just sit back and let the interactions take place and guide them to the realization of their problems. It was a joy to see it unfold.