charles000 I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I first started watching this, as it seems to launch into a sort of twisted edgy comedy at first, but as this film progresses, this story and the situations become very serious, compelling . . . and sad.The ending is particularly gripping, certainly not what would be expected from the beginning of this film. Everyone does a very fine job of professional acting at its best, but in this work, Kyra Sedgwick really shines.I don't think there is any other actress that I could think of who could possibly have delivered the embodiment of the Emily character more perfectly . . . she really shines in this role.The story itself can be a bit hard to go along with if you have had a parental / family experience with certain neurotic or other difficult psychological challenges. I have, and in some ways could really identify with various aspects of this story and its characters.This is not a light hearted film, despite its somewhat comedic beginning, but it is very well done.I liked it, as a fine example of the craft of acting, and for a truly unique story worthy of note.

CindersOJuniper Miss Darling was to a very large extent in love with the idea of a perfect son, and not the boy himself. The nickname given to him, Loverboy, is her way of defining him, but one which Paul refuses to completely accept. He is his own being, which we learn with his small rebellions and frustrations. The mother tries to define him too much, despite her wonderful and honest efforts, becoming the very villain she condemns the schoolteachers and staff.Her poisoning Loverboy and Paul is the final act of her attempts at controlling her son; she seeks to be his forever but ironically that proves impossible because of her own teachings to him. She injects strength, courage, and imagination into her son, allowing him to escape her loving but ultimately dread grasp, symbolized by his surviving of the terrible garage scene. She realizes that the world and even Paul himself will not allow him to be left with her forever, so she tries to serenely put them both asleep, as to secure her goal of being with him forever.However, this is her goal and her goal alone. Paul's gradual abandonment of her ideals, no matter how honest and great, are still hers. They are the core of the film. Butterflies, as she describes near the end of the film, must be allowed to roam freely to explore the world for themselves, not be pinned and fastened by another. Miss Darling has allowed this to a great extent, and the director has taken great care to show us that these are beautiful ambitions, which makes her insanity understandable, her character wonderful, and her evil eloquent.

Rick Shur Loverboy brilliantly lays parental love out on the table for all of us to observe in two of its twisted, unbalanced forms. The first is that of young Emily's parents, played sublimely by both director Kevin Bacon, and Marisa Tomei, who think that parenting consists of modeling love by bathing together with the door open and constantly cuddling in front of the child, as though she would be nurtured by having a pair of super-sexed hippie babysitters for guardians. The two are a riot, as is Sosie Bacon, playing with her real-life dad, a girl who sings a Bowie song in a school show in order to shock her parents into caring about her. These flashbacks are intricately woven together with the scenes of the adult Emily, played by Bacon's real wife, Kyra Sedgwick, as she raises her six-year-old Paul (Dominic Scott Kay) on her own, calling him Loverboy. Master Kay holds his own as the increasingly suffocated son, trying to escape his mother's web of the other kind of unbalanced love, being kept "safe" and "smart" and unsullied by society. We feel deeply for Paul, hoping that he will be allowed to stay in school as Emily descends heartbreakingly into madness, fearful that the school is poisoning her child. We pray that Matt Dillon, as a friendly fisherman, will be allowed to take Paul for a "boys only" fishing trip, but even then, the desperate Emily stands on the shore screaming at them to be safe while they're trying to have a few bonding moments together. The movie moves and looks like a dream, and like a dream, it has an explosive, cathartic ending that you have to wake up from. The Bacons in every way have put together a searing work of art, beautifully acted, shot and mounted, that should haunt anyone who can identify with its universally tragic themes.

Ubuman I read this book and saw the film at the Hamptons International Film Festival (10/2005). This is a complex and nuanced story about a single mother's obsessive love for her only child. The story explores the psychology of this obsession and the sometimes sublime, sometimes tragic effects it has on the lives of both mother and son. It is a wonderful adaptation of a novel by Victoria Redel (Greywolf 2001, Harcourt 2002 in paperback) that I imagine would present some challenges given its non-linear time frame and the careful parsing of its secret twists and turns. The acting is superb and the characters portrayed are funny, endearing, and multifaceted. Marissa Tomei and Kevin Bacon are hilarious as the 70's era, sexed up, deliriously in love and sadly neglectful parents. Kyra Sedgwick is brilliant as she confidently captures the complex subtleties of her character, making it easy for the audience to empathize with what would otherwise be, and at times is a difficult and disturbing obsessiveness. Other performances by Sandra Bullock as the sultry and insightful neighbor, Oliver Platt as the nervous and nerdy school administrator, and Matt Dillon as the love interest you can't help but root for, all contribute to what is a very entertaining and meaningful film.