Angus T. Cat So "Loving Leah" is a little schmaltzy, even for a love story. I loved it anyway. It's a real pleasure to watch a movie that is respectful of Jewish customs and presents a non sensationalized, exploitative, or prejudiced view of Jewish religious practice. Usually the only portraits of Jewish life I see on TV are tragic stories set during the Holocaust or comedies. I appreciated that Leah's mother was strict and scared her daughter enough for her to put up a show of the pretend marriage, but ultimately she cared for Leah, wanted her to be happy, and encouraged her to go back and make up with Jacob, even if he wasn't Orthodox, and even if he and Leah would attend a Reform Temple with a woman rabbi. I appreciated that none of the characters were stereotypes or played for laughs. Well done Hallmark!

alycia378 The story line wasn't full of any big surprises but the overall cleanness left my husband and me grinning for the rest of the evening. I Loved the fashionable modesty in this film..... even the non religious characters were dressed more modestly than the average cast. Except for Jake's topless moment there wasn't a lot of skin! I will recommend it to my friends who are picky about this sort of thingLeah's choices for head coverings after she let go of her wig are inspiring for any woman who is thinking of adding this to her way of life. I usually cover my head in public and I was truly blessed to see a film whose leading lady covered head and herself yet remained well groomed and didn't lean too far to the frump.Also, the biblical reference to Jacob and Leahs loveless marriage was fantastic. I doubt most viewers picked up on it but there it's there and that little triumph made it an even sweeter tale. Even my super manly husband said this is one we will enjoy again and again.

Nozz To begin with, a real Orthodox Jewish woman, from an Orthodox Jewish community, would not bother making an oven kosher for use if she couldn't count on her own flatmate to try to keep it kosher, or even to know what's kosher and what isn't. She wouldn't go to a swimming pool where men are allowed in at the same time. She wouldn't even hold a conversation alone with a strange man on a rooftop. We're given to understand that the heroine of this film isn't the typical Orthodox Jewish woman anyway, because she likes to sneak out to the movies; but obviously the real reason for her atypical behavior is that without it, the plot of the film could never occur. Also misrepresented is Reform Judaism: a Reform rabbi explains soberly about the interaction between the living and those who have passed on, and although with enough effort you could probably find a Reform rabbi who would say almost anything, I think you would look hard before you found one who claimed that the dead soul goes through experiences, and harder yet before you found one who claimed to know exactly what those experiences are. All that said, what we have here is a well acted film albeit a doubly formulaic one-- formulaic both in the progress of its love story and in its reconciliation of ostensibly incompatible ways of life.

Melissaslist I liked this movie a lot. I thought Lauren Ambrose was great in the role of Leah, an orthodox Jewish woman living in brooklyn who's husband dies leaving her a widow, and according to tradition, which I've NEVER heard of that she should be encouraged to marry the brother of her dead husband so she can have children and carry on the family name.The catch is that the living brother is extremely reformed in his ways while the deceased was extremely devout. They decide to marry, but both agree it's for convenience only and she moves to DC to live with him while he works on his medical fellowship.She's a free spirit and is happy for the opportunity to renew herself and wants to pursue a college degree against the wishes of her mother who believes a womans role is to serve her husband and children.What happens next is largely predictable, but it didn't bother me becuause the development of their relationship seemed to come very naturally and honestly.What struck me most about this movie was the charming childlike innocence of Leah as she was learning this whole new life. It was as if she was an amish person who moved to the big city and had to adapt to the pace and modern ways of life in addition to trying to maintain her OWN way of life through the way she decorated her room to her cooking traditional meals and taking on wifely duties....It was like she was trying to figure out how she could merge two worlds into one.It was a typical Hollywood ending no surprise. After all this was a hallmark hall of fame movie, but I really liked it.