It is a series of vignettes that deal with nine stories in the lives
of nine women, interwoven together to make a single tale.
The film opens in a prison setting where Sandra (Elpida Carrill),
the prisoner, is waiting for her young daughter to come and visit her.
Sandra ended up in jail due to bad situations in her life.
Robin Wright Penn plays Diana who is married and pregnant runs into
her old lover Damian (Jason Isaacs) at a supermarket. They had a chance
to recollect some of their old memories, good and bad, and discuss some
of the unresolved issues. At the end of the conversation Diana didn't
really know which way to go with her life.
Sonia (Holly Hunter) and her husband Martin (Stephen Dillane) while
visiting their friends ends up discussing their private life as well
as their grievances. Lorna (Amy Brenneman) while attending the funeral
of her ex-husbands wife finds out more about the reasons for the suicide
of the dead woman.
The other characters in other independent plots are Ruth (Sissy Spacek),
Camille (Kathy Baker), Richard (Joe Mantegna), Samantha (Amanda Seyfried).
In the final episode Maggie (Glenn Close) visits the graveside of her
beloved daughter Maria (Dakota Fanning).
The
writer director Rodrigo Garcia presents an unusual tale with nine separate
segments, each with a single story. Even though each episode last only
10 to 14 minutes and tells the story of a woman in despair, he has successfully
interconnected most of the characters in each story in one way or the
other. It is a bold new way of narrating a tale with different segments
and each and every character holding a spot just a few minutes but telling
a powerful tale.
Most of the cast members put up a decent performance in the brief
period of their appearance. Most of them try their best to prove their
interconnection with another character in another episode.
It is a new way of storytelling and filmmaking with short episodes
and varying number of characters. As a whole the movie is emotionally
touching with beautiful performances. As an entertainer it will keep
you on the toe for a while.
We rate the movie GOOD.
