jb_campo Ebert and Roeper gave this two thumbs up, which enticed me to borrow it from our library. They were right! This simple story is packed with terrific performances from Redford and Freeman. They run a ranch in a small town in Wyoming. Freeman was wounded and Redford is dutifully taking care of his friend. Suddenly J. Lo shows up, with a young girl in tow, seeking a place to stay as she escapes from an abusive boyfriend. The story unfolds methodically. Each character reveals that they have pain they experienced, yet Redford is the only one who can't get past it. He also has trouble accepting family that don't exactly match his desired behavior and image. Redford gives an Oscar-worthy performance. He's much better in these types of films than when he plays a bad guy. See him in The Horse Whisperer for a similar strong role. Freeman is equally excellent, bestowing words of wisdom with his special voice as only he can. The back and forth banter will have you chuckling continuously as these two old coots show you they know everything about each other, and that they can still handle themselves when trouble happens.Kudos to Bart the Bear. Watch the special feature to see how Bart2 was raised and train. It's amazing. Freeman shows a special reverence for this bear, and in his role, works towards forgiveness.Do yourself a favor and watch this wonderful film. I wish there were more films like this. Enjoy.

SpacemanBob When I saw this movie listed on the TV schedule I was surprised to see the names of Redford and Freeman starring in a film made nine years ago that I had never heard of. I have long been a fan of both of the actors and figured this can't be all that bad. Well, the two veteran actors play the parts well and Jennifer Lopez is solid in her role as well. The problem for the actors is the story which is so boring and predictable as to be one notch above torture. The plot is spoon fed to the viewer revealing the scope of the story very early in the film. J- Lo as Jean is running away with her daughter from her abusive boyfriend to Einar's (Redford) ranch. Einar's son was killed in an accident in a car that Jean was driving. Freeman as Mitch is Einar's long time ranch hand who has been disabled by a bear mauling while Einar was drunk and unable to save Mitch from the attack. From there the film is about forgiveness. Will Einar forgive Jean? Will Mitch forgive Einar? Will Mitch forgive the bear? If you are still awake as the film progresses the the plot unwinds the story drags on it is very predictable, boring, and slow to the point of comatose. I bet you can guess the rest of this. J-Lo finds a job as waitress in a small town greasy spoon. A new love interest of course and the bad boyfriend comes back and Mitch visits the bear and on and on. It's not like I just don't like this type of story or film. I loved Nobody's Fool with Paul Newman. This has none of the charm, humor, or appeal of that film.I was in the hospital when I saw this film on cable. The doctor came in to explain to me the anesthesia and what to expect and when I'd wake from it and so forth. I thought to myself I don't need it, just leave this movie on I'll be unconscious for hours.

tina d This movie is the same as Robert Redford's movie " Ordinary Life ". The only difference is it's mid-west people, the dad is sad not the mom, the wife is to blame for the death not the brother, and they threw in the domestic violence with the boyfriend, a bear attack, and a kid. They acting of Jello was the same as usual with nostrils flaring throughout, Redford was the same person as in all his performances, Freeman was good as an injured person, and the kid was good with the emotional situations. The locations and the animals were nice. The scenery is the reason I would suggest to watch this movie, or if a person is into family drama. The bear has been in many films. I do like that the bear was able to continue on his way in the story.

phi96435 My initial reaction after watching this movie was what a beautiful film visually and what a great story about love, acceptance and forgiveness. As I thought more about it I became more unsettled with some of the messages in the film.Every character but one gets understanding, redemption and love for behavior that led to pain, suffering and even death. The violent, possessive, abusive boyfriend gets none of it. He is portrayed as just plain bad who deserves a violent beating from the films hero - no redemption for this man. Restraint and consequences for bad behavior for sure but a viscous beating to be overlooked by the law? Isn't this some of the negative aspect of frontier culture this film wanted to challenge? Perhaps the origins of that man's behavior was in such abuse as a child and built into his psyche. However no understanding or forgiveness is warranted here. Instead of challenging the cycle of bullying, abuse and violence this film helps perpetuate it.