Irishmugs I was really disappointed with this movie. It was a hodge-podge script short on character development and long on unbelievable plot points.Some, but by no means all, of the problems I had with the movie:In the opening scene of the movie suicidal Sarah is standing on what, we find out later, is supposed to be the Empire State Building. Tribesmen in Papua New Guinea would know that wasn't the Empire State. Why bother with the pretense?Sam's supposedly the love of Sarah's life. She's gone for 7 years and never hears he's given up on her and married someone else. Telephones don't work between NYC and Scotland, no email, no snail-mail?In what I imagine is supposed to be a desperate attempt to tie Sam to her, Charlotte suggests they have a child. His response is to humiliate her in front of their restaurant staff and customers. The scene then devolves into an even more embarrassing fight between the characters amid rather perplexed diners. In the next scene she offers him opera tickets! As if it were a minor disagreement and the fault was mostly hers!!??!!??!! He's off with another woman and she's trying to woo HIM back? She should have taken a cue from the Jude character and copped it ASAP and escaped this movie.What's with that ramshackle stone cottage Sarah keeps ending up in? Couldn't there have been a line or two about its previous connection to ANY of the characters? Sure it's a semi-romantic location for Sam's and Sarah's obligatory sexual reunion but I kept wondering about how much it rains in Scotland and gee, that's an awfully big hole in that roof. Hey, "suspension of disbelief" only goes so far.Sarah's supposed to have had this wonderful life and been such a terrific person? Some vague references to her "success" in NYC and some incredibly bitchy behavior and she's a great gal? What a loss to humanity!At the end of the movie my sympathies were with most of the actors, what a waste of talent. If this had been my first Gerard Butler movie I would have suggested he switch to a career in male modeling. Fortunately, I'd seen Mr. Butler in better vehicles prior to viewing this mess.One real worry is that the director of this disaster has been listed as the director of "Burns", should that project ever get off the ground. If it does one hopes they find a better director.

sweeney32 Like others here, this movie attracted my attention because of actor Gerard Butler. I got the movie for myself (I'm a fan), but more importantly, I wanted to find a Gerard Butler film that my saintly mother can see, because she's a *big* fan. (Some of his other movies, like "Dracula 2000" and "Attila," are a little too strong for her delicate sensibilities!) Well, this movie passes the "you can show it to your sweet saintly mother" test. There is very little objectionable material here, and the filmmakers had very good intentions. It tried to convey a good message, and it did, to a degree.The problem I had with the film was that the characters were not that well-written. I sometimes wondered how the characters could behave so stupidly. But then, I've never been in their positions, so I don't know.{SPOILERS} I felt the relationship between old flame Sam and his wife was not handled well at all. Certainly the wife would feel jealous when Sam starts to take Sarah on outings to fulfill the things on her "list," but the fact was, initially, nothing that inappropriate was happening. Flying kites or skydiving—these are not grievous activities, especially when they are not made a secret from the spouse. However, it would have been better if some sort of compromise was at least offered (bringing the wife along on the outings too, perhaps?). I don't understand why the characters didn't at least discuss some sort of solution or compromise. Since Sam's wife seemed prone to jealousy from the start, perhaps no solution would have been reached, but it didn't appear as if anyone tried.Sarah was surprisingly free of any symptoms of a fatal illness. That didn't ring true. Also, she seemed rather self-absorbed and to an extent, shallow. But then, so did most of the characters.However, the film was not without merit. Firstly, I *can* show it to my saintly, gray-haired mom (who will be pleased to see a lovely Gerard Butler sporting a head full of dark curls!) without fear of any excessive violence or offensive content. Also, there is a good message nestled in there.Furthermore, even though you'd anticipate that this film would be a "downer" movie about dying of a fatal disease, it really isn't all *that* depressing. Partly, I think it's because you don't really care about Sarah all that much. (Maybe this was just me, though.) But also, it didn't dwell too much on doom and gloom, but was trying to drive home the message—live your life to its fullest. Don't be afraid to dare. You're never too old to start a new life. It does succeed, to some extent, to illustrate this message. So, it's really not a bad little film.

cdj1967 I loved this film if only to see a young Gerard Butler. I was annoyed with Sara because even if she was dying she didn't have to ruin a good marriage. Charlotte was the big loser here. She was so desperate in the end. It was sad. I didn't feel bad that Sara died in the end. We didn't get a feel for her relationship with Sam. No back story. Sara just arrived and that was it. Sam was so quick to dump his wife for the selfish Sara. Gerard Butler has such wonderful screen presence.The scenery in Scotland is beautiful. The end is nice and has a happy feel . But overall Sara is trying to find something she should have left alone.

fan-33 The performances by all the cast were extraordinary. I bought this on DVD, because I am a fan of Gerard Butler, who played Sam, the childhood sweetheart of the dying Sarah, who returned home to Scotland from NY to find him, when she learns that she is dying of cancer.Gerry Butler gives a very believable performance as Sarah's married former sweetheart, who still loves Sarah, and arranges to spend as much time with her as possible doing many of the things she always wanted to do. Frank, Sarah's father had spent the last 7 years sitting around waiting to die, Sarah's return forces him to start living again. This story takes us inside a therapy group for cancer sufferers, where we meet a 24 year old man who rages because he never had a chance to do anything with his life. It is a quiet gentle movie, with a lesson for everyone about making every day count.