pajeme1956-1 It's just so uninteresting. While watching the movie, all I could think of was "Poor Clive Owen. Stuck in this awful mess." He was supposed to be this tyrant of a father, yet I never saw any proof of this. The only way you would know he was mean was because other character kept telling him so. I felt like the scenes where he was so mean and nasty were left on the cutting room floor, and we were left with a sanitized version. I felt like I had seen this movie on Lifetime or Hallmark Hall of Fame. Or perhaps they blended the two together and came up with this. Commercials would have made a huge improvement.It was choppy and uneven in most places, and yet, occasionally there would be a wonderful scene that was stuck in now and then. The movie did have some beautiful scenery and cinematography of Australia.

mikezexcel I guess anyone can try to get their life story out there nowadays, no matter how boring. The only reason I sat through this dull film was to see if something, anything, would happen before it ended. That something happened in the first 5 minutes: Clive Owen's wife of 6 years dies - suddenly, I might add - of cancer. He is left a sullen shell of a man, unable to keep his house clean and look after his young son. True stories usually have something inspirational or redemptive about them. At least they should or it is not a story worth telling. No such luck here. He tries to reconcile with the older son from a first marriage, who lives with his ex-wife half a world away. I could go and tell you how he ambles through each day, but it would be just as boring as it sounds. This film really had nothing to say, and it is easily the worst movie I have seen in years.I don't have a grudge against this type of movie. I actually am a sucker for a weepie done right. The best examples would be MEN DON'T LEAVE (with Jessica Lange) and of course TERMS OF ENDEARMENT. I am among the few people who have actually seen MEN DON'T LEAVE, and it is a masterpiece. A terrific example of tempering your weepie with humor and interesting characters. I'd sit through it a dozen times.

gradyharp If Clive Owens accepted the role of Joe Warr (based on the autobiography of Simon Carr) as an attempt to break away from his type casting as a blood and thunder action hero, he at least proved that he is able to step beyond his usual screen presence. Though the story of a happily married sports writer to a beautiful young second wife Katy (Laura Fraser), enjoying their one child Artie (Nicholas McAnulty), who abruptly becomes a single parent when Katy dies from metastatic carcinoma, placing him in the uncomfortable position of becoming a single parent, is not unique among the tearful novels that have also made their way to the screen, this film survives on the quality of the cast. Not only does Joe have to overcome the treacherous terrain of tending to housekeeping along with the tenuous gap that occurs when a parent dies and the remaining parent must tend to the grief of the remaining child, but he also must cope with the young Harry (George McKay), his son by his first marriage in England (his second family is in Australia) who feels deserted and asks to come to live with Joe and his half brother Artie. The film lingers over the madness of a household of males, tinkers with tricky problems with inlaws and his exwife, but in the end the message is that with 'growth' on the parts of each of the three males in the tale, happiness is possible. The film's intent is admirable and the cast of characters selected to portray these people - Owens shows real potential as a serious dramatic actor, George McKay is particularly excellent as the elder son - is very well selected. The film is long, and could be easily edited without altering the impact of the story. Director Scott Hicks allows the film to become predictable and overly saccharine: less could definitely have been more. But it is a good evening's entertainment. And Clive Owens CAN do Hallmark-type films for TV! Grady Harp

OliverGbyrne Nice film that unfortunately didn't get the chance to perform well at the box office because of an incredible lack of marketing. The film has three connected storyline.You have Joe Warr (Clive Owen) a father who his coping with adjusting his carefree lifestyle for the need of his sons after loosing his wife from Cancer,you then have his son Artie Warr (Nicholas McAnulty) a little boy who don't know how to handle the loss of his mother. Then,you have the 14 year old son,Harry Warr (George MacKay) from a previous marriage who always felt left out by his father and never built up the courage to tell him and the fact that his mother is now pregnant with a new child from another man increase the boy's feeling of being on his own.The father and his two sons learn from each other throughout the film and the father start to built a relationship with his children but the film is not Soppy or cheesy,somehow it find a way to tell this sort of story without going over the top,to make it short this is not a lifetime movie of the week , it's a strong drama with subtle,quiet but very thoughtful performance. Clive Owen gives one of his best performance as a father who doesn't quite know how to handle his newly found responsibility,he gives a very strong yet vulnerable performance. Nicholas McAnulty,the youngest of the cast gives a great performance for such a young actor,he plays a boy who is overwhelmed from keeping his grief locked inside with incredible maturity. But in my opinion the most interesting storyline came from Joe's estranged British son,Harry, played by the very talented George MacKay.The relationship between Harry and his father was very interesting because they truly felt like a father and son who knew nothing about each other and some of the most intense scene came from the two trying to get a feel for each other.One scene that stick in my mind was when a frustrated Joe asked Harry to take the garbage out and after Harry insist that he will do it but later , Joe get angry with Harry who immediately realize that he had upset his father.It's an awkward moment between a father and a son who were never long enough with each other to have that sort of fight before and it ends up with Harry crying and his father running away from having to deal with his oldest son's problem , knowing quite well that the problem was in fact himself.It's theses bravely performed moment that makes this film a pleasure to watch. The only minor problems I have with the film is that some elements that are introduced are not used to the best of their capacity.The relationship between Joe and his Mother in Law is interesting but underused and you feel that much more could have been done with it,the same goes for the relationship between Joe and the mother of one of his youngest son's friend (Emma Booth). Overall this film had a very good Cast and interesting characters and as a Drama it's superior to a lot of films that comes out at the moment. Very recommended. 7.5 out of 10.