You want to scream to make the torture stop. Do you think the bear is going to return? Do you think Einar will see his son again in Griff’s eyes? Will every trite emotional trick work its way out of Mark Spragg’s novel and into the film version, written by Spragg and his wife, Virginia? Will director Lasse Hallstrom (remember his enervating Shipping News? This is worse) show no shame in jerking tears and the audience’s chain? Redford and Freeman have a relaxed rapport - watch their expressions when Griff asks them if they’re gay - but the script keeps giving them unspeakable lines to utter. Mitch is pretty bruised himself, from a bear attack - the first of the film’s many outbreaks of symbolism. Ranch hand Mitch (Freeman) encourages Einar to heal old wounds for the girl’s sake. Jean needs protection from her abusive boyfriend (Damian Lewis). Now here she is on his farm with her daughter Griff (Becca Gardner), 11. He blames his daughter-in-law Jean (Lopez), who was driving. Redford plays Einar Gilkyson, a Wyoming farmer who’s been drinking hard since his son was killed in a car crash a dozen years back. It’s the drag-ass solemnity of this turgid family drama that makes you crazy. Lasse Hallström directed An Unfinished Life.It’s not just that Jennifer Lopez looks lost and out of her league acting with Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman. Starring: Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Morgan Freeman. The particulars of this one made it interesting to experience because the characters and circumstances are well-drawn and well-played. A grieving widow and her daughter move in with her estranged father-in-law in Wyoming, where time allows them to heal and forgive. Stories about grief and forgiveness are so real, so human, so universal. I liked the film as much the second time as I did the first. The film was shot in Canada, but the ranch and surrounding hills look enough like Wyoming to be convincing. The acting was superlative, as you would expect from a stellar cast like this one. The passing days bring changes to every one of characters as they explore their grief and pain face to face, get to know each other, and have adventures with bears. That was a long plot setup for what follows as Jean works at Nina’s cafe and saves enough money to go somewhere else. Meanwhile, the sheriff takes Jean up on her offer of commitment-free sex. The handsome sheriff (Lucas) promises to be on the lookout for Gary the abuser, who indeed does show up. She goes into town and gets a waitress job from Nina (Manheim).Įveryone in town remembers Jean, remembers the wreck that killed her husband. He didn’t even know he had a grandchild who looks just like her dad. She was driving when they had a wreck that killed his son. The film also features Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, Josh Lucas, Damian Lewis, Camryn Manheim, and young Becca Gardner. Jennifer Lopez isn’t the only attraction. The first thing he says when he sees the two of them walking up is, “I don’t want you here.”Įinar and his ranch hand of many years Mitch (Freeman) are living out their days with one milk cow, one horse, a pickup truck that runs only sometimes, and the need to care daily for Mitch who was mauled by a bear about a year ago.Įinar blames Jean for the death of his son. It’s crazy hard to find anything with a good lead female character on Netflix, and here was An Unfinished Life with Jennifer Lopez just waiting. Out of desperation, Jean takes her daughter to her father-in-law Einar’s (Redford) tumbledown wreck of a ranch in Wyoming. They abandoned the car and everything in it except what they could stuff in plastic bags. The car broke down in the middle of nowhere. Apparently the promise was to leave Gary, because mother and daughter packed their belongings and drove off in a clunker of a car. When he beats up Jean yet again, Griff reminds her mother that the last time it happened she promised. The basic plot: Jean Gilkyson (Lopez) and her 8 year old daughter Griff (Gardner) live with Gary, an abusive boyfriend (Lewis). The different characters experience grief in their own ways, cling to it in their own ways, and ultimately work through it in their own ways. When I saw it on Netflix, I thought Why not give it another try? It’s crazy hard to find anything with a good lead female character on Netflix, and here was An Unfinished Life with Jennifer Lopez just waiting. I watched 2005’s An Unfinished Life years ago and remember liking it.
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