msmoogoo I enjoyed this movie and the fact that it is split into chapters and all the characters tie together. Each chapter you learn a little more about them and it doesn't all make sense until the final and you get one of those "aha" moments and I liked that. I thought the ending was a little weird though, I thought it would have been more exciting, but it was just, OK well that's it then. Other than that I would say good watch. The characters are all interesting and you really get a feel for their lives in the short chapters, especially the wife and the sister, those two were very emotional. I really like the fact that you don't know what is going to happen at the end until it reaches the end, it is impossible to predict, unlike some other movies that are predictable.

arisdisc Does anyone really read the 'last' pages of these reviews? I'll take that chance, and simply say that I agree with most folks in here regarding this fine film.Just got a chance to see it last night and in a word, this movie is simply: Outstanding.The performances are flawless and there isn't a single scene that doesn't ring true. It grabs you emotionally and never lets go. The fine score is equally effective.Do yourself a favor. Put this high on your list if you haven't seen it yet and do so very soon.

zetes The body of a young woman is discovered naked in a field. This film tells four short stories about the people around this person, and a fifth about the girl herself. It is an amazing achievement, like if Alejandro González Iñárritu made a film where the story worked. The first segment deals with the woman who finds the body (Toni Collette), her unbearable mother (Piper Laurie) and the possibly dangerous stranger she meets (Giovanni Ribisi). The second story is about a young woman (Rose Byrne) whose own sister has been missing for the past 15 years. Of course she misses her sister, but her life has been consumed by her mother's desperate belief that her daughter is alive (Mary Steenburgen plays the mother and Bruce Davison her father). When Byrne, working as a mortician, comes upon the young girl's body, she thinks it may be her sister. Or at least she hopes so. James Franco also stars as Byrne's co-worker who wants to be more. The third segment is about the killer himself (Nick Searcy) and his long-suffering wife (Mary Beth Hurt), an extremely religious and oppressive woman who has probably driven Searcy to multiple murders. Hurt discovers her husband's dirty secret. The fourth segment is about the dead girl's real mother (Marcia Gay Harden), who has to come to grips with her own failure as a mother (her daughter ran to L.A. to become an actress and instead ended up a prostitute). The fifth and final stars Brittany Murphy as the girl. It's pretty hard to watch so soon after her death. It's absolutely devastating. Most of the movie is quietly devastating. The second segment, even if it didn't directly connect with Murphy's character, was the most powerful to me. Byrne and Steenburgen are both undervalued actresses, and the climactic argument between them is extraordinarily powerful. My second favorite would be the fourth segment. Marcia Gay Harden is another actress who can almost never do wrong, and she delivers here (in a film of great performances, hers is definitely the best). I liked the other three segments a lot, too. Writer/director Karen Moncrieff falls into melodrama once in a while, especially during the final sequence (though she ends it at a perfect moment, encapsulating the film's major theme, of mother/daughter relationships) - junkie prostitutes are a film subject that is maybe a little too overexplored. But mostly she creates three-dimensional characters and moving situations. Her direction is not unique, but I'd rather have it straight than showy (screw you Iñárritu). Plus, the most overlooked aspect of direction is bringing out the performances, and she does that over and over again here. It's a remarkable film (that certainly did not deserve to be released pretty much straight to DVD, though I definitely see how hard this one would be to sell). I want to see her first feature and I hope to see Moncrieff find a place in actual theaters in the future.

lastliberal Five different women, all connect by the discovery of a dead girl.Toni Collette finds the body, and experiences some measure of notoriety. At least she isn't getting yelled out by her mother (Piper Laurie), who depends upon her for constant care. She finds the strength to leave.Rose Byrne is a forensics student who is prepping the body. her sister disappeared 15 years ago, and she is had all she can take of her parents search for her, especially her mother ((Mary Steenburgen).Mary Beth Hurt is the wife of a husband that disappears frequently. She discovers evidence in a storage locker that implicates him as a serial killer. She tries to do the right thing, but is not strong enough.Marcia Gay Harden is the mother, who tries to do the right thing when she discovers that she has a granddaughter. Will she repeat her mistakes and marry another child molester? Finally, there is the victim, Brittany Murphy, who doesn't really endear herself to us so that we can feel sorry for her. She lives a life that puts her in the path of scum, like serial killers.It was a fascinating story that showed several angles of one death. There were some fantastic performances (Mary Beth Hurt), and some good ones.