Ziglet_mir A film about a woman struggling to live with herself after a life changing accident. She is paralyzed from the waist down and drinks by the hour. She goes through a slew of nurses at her Louisiana home until she finally comes to terms with one played by Alfre Woodard. The film is supported by strong character moments and superb dialog. Overall, it is a beautifully written and well crafted film. John Sayles does an amazing job directing, writing and editing. He extracts memorable performances from Mary McDonnell and Alfre Woodard, and never once shows an unnecessary scene or line. Look out for a supporting role from David Straithairn and the subtle yet poignant cinematography that drives the film to its end. (The Louisiana Bayous never looked so good!)

Michael Neumann A crippled TV soap opera star (Mary McDonnell) retreats, with undisguised bitterness, to her neglected childhood home in Louisiana, where she proceeds to make life hell for a series of nurses, until the arrival of Alfre Woodard. The balance of the movie follows McDonnell's slow emotional recovery and her reluctant friendship with Woodard, but despite the similarity to so many other Hollywood rehab dramas there isn't a wasted word or image, and not a cliché in sight. The film marks a return to the intimate scale of director John Sayles' earlier efforts, and it's a pleasure to finally see a mainstream American movie with the novelty of real characters speaking believable dialogue, written by a filmmaker with enough patience to allow his story to develop at a natural pace. The result is a leisurely but powerful drama, with more than its share of humor and with plenty of lively local Cajun culture. Trivia note: both McDonnell and Woodard were previously featured in Lawrence Kasdan's Yuppie wish-fulfillment fantasy 'The Grand Canyon' where, ironically, they never shared a single scene.

jeremy3 This movie is about a soap star, who is barely middle-aged, yet finds here self permanently disabled. She returns to her childhood home in Louisiana's Bayou. The soap star is very credibly played. She is a pain-in-the-neck. She is mad at the World. She turns to alcohol as her way of coping. Any nurse's aides that come by find that she is impossible to deal with. Finally a black woman, played by Alfrey Woodard, comes by. She is unconventional. Unlike the other aides, she doesn't pretend to be the orderly. She is honesty and down-to-earth. She says that 'she can't leave. It is a job that she must have'. The 'must have' turns out to be due to the fact that she is really looking for a place of refuge from her destructive life up North. This movie is very original. It may be one of Sayles' best. The bayou is beautiful. The actors and actresses who play the locals are very convincing. I especially like the "prima donna" ladies who pretend to be sophisticated, but really are opinionated bigots. Of course, Sayles' regular shows up as a local fisherman. Straitharn plays a very believable cajun. I also like the way that the local blacks were portrayed. They were cajun blacks. They had their own style, but also were culturally similar to the local cajun whites. The cajun music, of course, was very good. The beau of Woodard's character was entertaining. He was a man of lots of experiences. He had a boyish charm, but also had a lot of responsibilities. He was very forward and positive thinking. This movie was very charming. It is strange that a movie about a pain-in-the neck wheelchair-bound woman, could actually be entertaining and positive. Somehow, Sayles accomplished this.

ejwells Writer/Director John Sayles' 1992 outing tells the tale of a soap opera star (Mary McDonell), who's been in a car accident, and is now wheelchair bound, and her unlikely friendship with her live-in nurse (Alfre Woodard). Excellent supporting roles from the great David Strathairn (A Sayles fave, star of Limbo), Vondie Curtis-Hall (who went on to direct Gridlock'd), and Angela Bassett. I gotta say this. Sayles always writes believable characters, and his dialogue is amongst the best in filmdom. I knew my wife would like this, which was my main motivation for renting it. I'd seen it before, but had forgotten just how good it is. McDonell garnered a well-deserved Oscar nomination for her role in this largely overlooked gem. 4 (of 5) stars on this one.