Sherine Yousery This movie was a beautiful source of inspiration in my life. Whenever I'm confused with all the burdens, remembering this movie tells me what to do.The beauty of it is how it shows you the difference between wasting your life with someone, and offering your life to someone. There's a great difference which we tend to sometimes not pay attention to. Diane Keaton "Bessie" shines in one of the brightest scenes I have ever seen in my life, telling her sister how she loved offering her life to her sick father and aunt, and how true love takes different forms and comes in ways we never to expect. Meryl Streep "Lee" on the other hand, succeeds brilliantly in showing us that pursuing our idea of a full free life can be a waste of time, an illusion. Maybe the best things in life aren't about what we think we know. This piece of art is a gem for anyone who likes drama and is interested in learning a real lesson or whoever liked "One True Thing" and other wonderful movies which didn't get the recognition they deserved. The movie is very entertaining, provoking and beautiful although it gets sappy at some parts. An applause to real movies' makers.

bkoganbing Even more interesting than the film Marvin's Room is the short tragic life of its creator Scott McPherson. Four years after he died after just completing the screenplay adaption of the play this film was based on, Marvin's Room came to the screen. No doubt the director and cast felt a particular responsibility to honor his vision.Watching Marvin's Room I was reminded of South Riding a novel that has been adapted once to the big screen and twice as mini-series for British television. The author Winifred Holtby had a short life as did McPherson and wrote a novel based on her love of the Yorkshire area of England and the people she grew up among. Though her story is an epic and McPherson's a family portrait both represent a race against mortality that both authors endured to have their work live. I recommend the film South Riding very highly, it stars Ralph Richardson and Edna Best, see my review here.Although Diane Keaton was honored with a Best Actress Oscar nomination the whole ensemble could have been honored. She plays a woman who is the chief caregiver for her aged father Hume Cronyn. Keaton has been diagnosed with leukemia and is in need of a bone marrow transplant. Among likely donors are her sister Meryl Streep and Meryl's sons, Leonardo DiCaprio and Hal Scardino. DiCaprio is a kid with some issues, he was in a mental institution for burning down their house and Streep has to get him sprung for the trip.Nothing is ever resolved for any of these people, but they do come together kind of in this crisis. That's as far as I'll go.One performance that doesn't seem to be talked about much is that of Hal Scardino as the younger son. He reminded me a lot of my younger brother, the age spread between DiCaprio and him is about the same. My family had a lot of drama as well and my brother developed certain defense mechanisms of observing silently what went on around him without necessarily participating thereof. Marvin's Room is a great ensemble production and I certainly hope that Scott McPherson one of the innumerable talents lost to the AIDS epidemic is pleased with what was done with his creation.

Desertman84 Two sisters try to set their familial differences aside -- one in hopes of saving her own life -- in this drama with comic accents.Marvin's Room is a film based on the play of the same name by Scott McPherson.The play, which was directed by David Petrarca, was adapted for the screen by McPherson and directed by Jerry Zaks. It stars Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Hume Cronyn, Gwen Verdon, Hal Scardino and Dan Hedaya. Bessie has lived in Florida for the past 20 years, where she's been caring for her chronically ill father Marvin and her Aunt Ruth, who does not seem well acquainted with reality. While Bessie's life has not been easy, she feels that it's rewarding in its way, and she's come to love her father very much. However, when Bessie is diagnosed with cancer, she's told that the only treatment likely to save her would be a bone marrow transplant from a close relative -- which leads Bessie to contact her sister Lee for the first time since their father fell ill. Bessie and Lee have a number of issues with each other that they've never resolved, many concerning their responses to Marvin's illness as Bessie rushed to his side, while Lee preferred to stay away, and Lee's own life has been difficult. She's gotten herself out of a bad marriage, has only recently started supporting herself as a beautician, and has to raise two kids on her own. Ten-year-old Charlie tries to simply ignore the chaos going on all round him, while Hank, a troubled 17-year-old, was recently institutionalized after burning down the family's home. As the straight-laced Bessie and the earthy Lee reestablish contact after two decades, they discover just how much emotional ground they have to cover before they can meet on common ground. Based on a play by Scott McPherson's who died of AIDS, it's impossible to watch the well-acted film particularly Diane Keaton, who got an Oscar nomination,as she was given a rare opportunity here to remind us that she's not simply a fine comedienne, and she's marvelous.Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hume Cronyn and Gwen Verdon add to the greatness of the cast's brilliance and excellent performance.And most of all,it provides great themes about the various approaches to love; the strength of family bonds in times of death, aging parents, reconciliation; and the healing power of selfless love.It was one good movie inspite of being dull and slow at times.A can't miss movie.

disdressed12 i liked this drama starring Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton.the movie starts out as two seemingly separate stories,which end up connecting together under less than ideal circumstances.Leonardo DiCaprio also stars.the acting is good here,particularly from Streep,although Dianne Keaton is good too.DiCaprio(one year before he exploded into super stardom from Titanic)is good but his role is small.Robert De Niro has a role in what amounts to a bit more than a cameo appearance as does Dan Hedaya.you would think the movie would be depressing,but i didn't think it was.it is however,all about the drama,and so it's not fast moving,so that could be a put off for some.if you like dramatic movies,you might like this one.for me,Marvin's Room is a 7/10