Sarah-Polley Movie Reviews

This is a Spanish/Canadian film starring ever-wonderful Sarah Polley as Ann, terminally-ill young mother living in a trailer house with her two small girls, Penny and Patsy. But don't worry about its apparently serious theme; the film is filled with lyrical, and even quirky atomosphere well handled by Spanish director Isabel Coixet.

Ann is working night-shift at university in Vancouver, and has a two cute girls to raise. Her husband Don (Scott Speedman) is out of work, but luckily is likely to get a job at the swimming pool construction.

But one day, Ann realizes that she is going to die within two months, maybe three. Then she decides to list ten things she should do before dying, which go as follows:

1) Tell my daughters I love them several times a day.
2) Find Don a new wife who the girls like.
3) Record birthday messages for the girls for every year until they're 18.
4) Go to Whalebay Beach together and have a big picnick.
5) Smoke and drink as much as I want....

You should see the remaining five for yourself.

The film does not follow her action of doing them one by one. Instead, it shows how she comes to see and accept the inevitable fact -- "My Life without Me." She meets a new boy, book-loving Lee (Mark Ruffalo), and a new next-door neighbor namesake Ann (Lennor Watling, the sleeping beauty in "Talk to Her").

You don't expect "My Life." The heroine's emotional change is sometimes very subtle, apparently difficult to find. However, just because of this delicate and rounded characterization, we start to care these people tenderly depicted in the film. The story is almost non-existent; what you see is Ann gradually fading away (or preparing for that) without telling the fact that she is ill. This setting is a bit forced, but still intriguing enough.

And its quirky humor. Director Isabel Coixet once gave us little-seen (but charming) film "Things I Never Told You" in which slight things make us smile. But I have to tell you that "My Life without Me" gives that kind of "little smile" when the film is very poignant. See one of the little girls say during the dinner about Ann's co-worker (Amanda Plummer). You either find it funny, or very cruel.

Though I must say not everything succeeds (especially some of the dialogues and long monologues looks out of place). But for all its familar and potentially dismal theme, the film keeps on engaging, largely thanks to Sarah Polly's credible performance. If you liked her in "Sweet Hereafter," this is for you.

About guest stars. You can see Maria de Medeiros ("Pulp Fiction") as the Hairdresser, and a bit of her dancing. Alfred Molina ("Chocola") and Deborah Harry also appear as Ann's parents. The film is co-produced by Pedro Almodovar. And certainly the subject matter is what he is likely to cherish.

The ramona show jeez we all watched it, and this proud sister is her. This movie is powerfull and dreamy. As a DRAMA JUNKIE this film delevers all the tear jerking goodies, but it also has some cutting edge postive women in film stuff, and for once some proper love for the little sweeties(children). There is however some odd bulemia references. Hmmmmmmmmmmm over all much to cry about, high praise for a drama.

Running over 3 hours long, this made for TV movie is well directed and noticably edited at a clip, except when time is needed to explore detail. It's no surprise that the narrative is based on a novel, since there are three plot strands, and it's to Larry Elikann's credit that proceedings build progressively. At the centre are 3 pairs of hands - cop Armand Assante, his wife Beverley D'Angelo, and assistant District Attorney Blair Brown - but their triangle has a lot of intersecting angles. What they have in common is rape. Brown is investigating a gang and D'Angelo is the victim of one. Though the perpetrators are different, it's inevitable that Brown will come to meet D'Angelo. And this is given another dimention by Brown recruiting Assante to help with her investigation, and that's even before D'Angelo is involved! Confused? What I particularly liked was Elikann's decision to not use music, a wise one when so much of the narrative is methodical action. He does succumb to the ubiquitous sax in a sex scene, but the editing cuts away thankfully fast. At first I was irritated by Assante's performance, with his macho strutting and bird-like head movements. In response Brown imitates him and her usual likability is in question. But eventually he becomes more solid (or I overlooked the mannerism) and his final emotionalism is touching. He also has a drunk scene where his energy level picks up considerably. D'Angelo bears the bulk of the load and while she may overdo the distraught victim, she knows how to play against her co-stars, and she excels when she is trapped. Her rape scene is not explicit but the suggestion and Arliss Howard's smiling offender is so perverse that what one imagines is much more powerful. Howard has a sinister briefcase, with undisclosed contents, and when the nature of the photographs he has taken of his acts is seen by someone, they vomit. Brown has the lesser of the 3 roles, but she manages to get a laugh out of a cliched answer to "Are you sure it was him?" - "You hear his voice, and you don't need to hear it again". The frosty treatment she gives to a rape victim is redeemed, and I liked the animal noises she makes in response to Assante at one point. There are a few minor plot holes - Assante staking out his own house to watch D'Angelo, the disappearance of one character without explaination, and Assante being unrecognised by Howard after he has possession of D'Angelo's purse, as if she didn't have a pic of her husband - but these are forgiveable. And we get to witness a rare torture scene which is contextually pleasing.

Depending on your own political and racial views, this film either A) had great potential but a bad ending, or B) showed the "truth" about racists! My beliefs sway my opinion toward the former.

Message: Like its big-studio successor American History X, this film presented many rational and researched facts which White Nationalists rightfully use to argue their case. Unfortunately, and also like AHX, it negated every single irrefutable piece of pro-White evidence with acts of blatant violence and stupidity that are, in reality, much, much less common (and rarely, if ever, advocated or supported by respectable WN groups) than the media and entertainment industry enjoy leading its braindead audience of blind sheep to believe.

Acting: I thought each person did a commendable job of interpreting their various roles as they were intended and written. Being a North American teen myself, I found Sarah Polley's portrayal of Catherine Chapman very relatable. Confused, angry, intelligent. Many others will find comfort in her character.

Plot: The storyline had potential, but the end is predictable and overall disappointing. The plot was simple but not really lacking, and not bad for a made-for-TV drama.

I recommend this film to anyone interested in the subject of race. Also check out American History X and Romper Stomper--please just keep an open mind while viewing them and do lots of research before taking a particular viewpoint on their messages.

If you have seen the anthology film "New York Stories", you may recall the memorable Martin Scorcese segment about the older painter (Nick Nolte) and his young female "protege" (Rosanna Arquette). "Guinevere" is basically an extended feature-length meditation on the same story; it just swaps a photographer for a painter and a San Francisco locale for NYC. Stephen Rea portrays the manipulative Svengali with his usual glazed, expressionless mask (one of those actors who directs all his energy into the character's "rich inner life", or just a consistently wooden performer? Discuss). Sarah Polley gives an understated performance as Rea's young "student".Some of Woody Allen's "Manhattan" territory is also retread, but the performances are compelling enough to keep your interest. There is a near Oscar-worthy supporting performance from Jean Smart, as Polley's outspoken mother, who really eats up her limited screen time; she is quite memorable in a key confrontation with Rea's character where she verbally takes him apart, but in a sly and subtle fashion. The movie is marred by slight over-length and a final scene that seems out-of-place and a bit too theatrically "stagey"; but definitely is worth a look on a slow night.

I haven't seen Rea since his role in "don't reveal the secret!" Crying Game, although I've heard that he did well in Still Crazy. Guenevere, though, explores an odd mentor-lover relationship between starving artist Rea and blue-blood, WASPy Polley. The age difference here wasn't the only issue, oddly enough--rather it was the strange turns that inevitably develop between people who knowingly enter a relationship where tutoring is an intended part of the romance. Rea's artist has a long history of shacking up with young women and turning them into "true" artists, be they painters, sculptors, dancers, or in Polley's case, photographers. And although I normally would balk at the willingness with which these women handed themselves over to Rea's well-worn lines and drunken philosophies, Guenevere managed to avoid the squeamishness that I feel, for example, whenever I see Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones together. Be sure to pay attention to Jean Smart's dead-on analysis of daughter Polley and Rea's relationship; it's eloquent and brutal.

Many have either misunderstood or overlooked this gem. If only Hollywood had the brains and/or balls to put out such gems. I loved this movie and could easily watch it many times over. The dialog was intelligent, piercingly truthful. Bravo to the screenwriter! All of the actors: Stephen Rea, Sarah Polly, Jean Smart, Gina Gerson gave compelling, strong performances.

"Guinevere" is the nickname given by Stephen Rea's character (Connie), an alcoholic bohemian type way past his prime, to his significantly younger female companions. See the King Arthur and Guinevere analogy? You see the relationship fraught with the parasitic and symbiotic moments. Jean Smart, who played Guinevere's mom, gave an amazing monolog dissecting the nature of such a relationship.

For those reviewers who said that this film was unrealistic; I disagree. Anyone who has ever found oneself fascinated by inappropriate, older lovers at some point in one's life will understand this film. Some of my friends and I have been "Guinevere" for our own reasons, and we saw the emotional truth in this film.

If you have seen the anthology film "New York Stories", you may recall the memorable Martin Scorcese segment about the older painter (Nick Nolte) and his young female "protege" (Rosanna Arquette). "Guinevere" is basically an extended feature-length meditation on the same story; it just swaps a photographer for a painter and a San Francisco locale for NYC. Stephen Rea portrays the manipulative Svengali with his usual glazed, expressionless mask (one of those actors who directs all his energy into the character's "rich inner life", or just a consistently wooden performer? Discuss). Sarah Polley gives an understated performance as Rea's young "student".Some of Woody Allen's "Manhattan" territory is also retread, but the performances are compelling enough to keep your interest. There is a near Oscar-worthy supporting performance from Jean Smart, as Polley's outspoken mother, who really eats up her limited screen time; she is quite memorable in a key confrontation with Rea's character where she verbally takes him apart, but in a sly and subtle fashion. The movie is marred by slight over-length and a final scene that seems out-of-place and a bit too theatrically "stagey"; but definitely is worth a look on a slow night.

I haven't seen Rea since his role in "don't reveal the secret!" Crying Game, although I've heard that he did well in Still Crazy. Guenevere, though, explores an odd mentor-lover relationship between starving artist Rea and blue-blood, WASPy Polley. The age difference here wasn't the only issue, oddly enough--rather it was the strange turns that inevitably develop between people who knowingly enter a relationship where tutoring is an intended part of the romance. Rea's artist has a long history of shacking up with young women and turning them into "true" artists, be they painters, sculptors, dancers, or in Polley's case, photographers. And although I normally would balk at the willingness with which these women handed themselves over to Rea's well-worn lines and drunken philosophies, Guenevere managed to avoid the squeamishness that I feel, for example, whenever I see Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones together. Be sure to pay attention to Jean Smart's dead-on analysis of daughter Polley and Rea's relationship; it's eloquent and brutal.

Many have either misunderstood or overlooked this gem. If only Hollywood had the brains and/or balls to put out such gems. I loved this movie and could easily watch it many times over. The dialog was intelligent, piercingly truthful. Bravo to the screenwriter! All of the actors: Stephen Rea, Sarah Polly, Jean Smart, Gina Gerson gave compelling, strong performances.

"Guinevere" is the nickname given by Stephen Rea's character (Connie), an alcoholic bohemian type way past his prime, to his significantly younger female companions. See the King Arthur and Guinevere analogy? You see the relationship fraught with the parasitic and symbiotic moments. Jean Smart, who played Guinevere's mom, gave an amazing monolog dissecting the nature of such a relationship.

For those reviewers who said that this film was unrealistic; I disagree. Anyone who has ever found oneself fascinated by inappropriate, older lovers at some point in one's life will understand this film. Some of my friends and I have been "Guinevere" for our own reasons, and we saw the emotional truth in this film.

I had been eagerly anticipating this film because it featured three of my favorite film personalities... Hal Hartley, Sarah Polley and Helen Mirren.

Buzz around this new film had been rather negative... largely, I think, due to the trailer on the NO SUCH THING website, that makes the film look like a mainstream film... which is certainly is not. It's Hal, through and through and I really loved it. Sarah Polley and Helen Mirren are outstanding as an innocent, waifish assistant, and her hard-nosed, cynical boss respectively, on a television news show. Robert Burke (UNBELIEVABLE TRUTH, SIMPLE MEN) plays the monster. Julie Christie also appears as a brilliant doctor in Iceland.

Hartley tackles a stairical look at the media... and does so with humor and real emotion. Some of Polley's scenes as she undergoes a series of traumatic hardships are amazing. And the slow revelation about the monster while hardly unexpected is still surprising. Once again, Hartley wraps things up with a mysterious and transcendent ending.

When a true living monster (Robert John Burke) living the Icelnad Country. When a T.V. Crew from the United States are killed by this Monster, by looking for a unique story. A beautiful bright young woman (Sarah Polley) decides to go Iceland to meet the monster. Unexpectedly, they start a friendship-while she brings him to New York City for fame. She starts to take a liking to him and he feels the same way, despite his immortality.

Written and Directed by Hal Hartley (Amateur, Flirt, Trust) made a unique, one of a kind film. That's a homage to Beauty and the Beast at a modern day world-which makes this film a Winner. This very underrated film has terrific performances by Polley and Burke's Best Performance since Stephen King's Thinner. This was little seen in theaters, this is actually a Instant Cult Classic. DVD's has an anamorphic widescreen (1.66:1) transfer and an fine Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD only extra is Tralier. This is a film worth seeing and worth buying. Executive Produced by Francis Ford Coppola. Grade:A.

is that it needs a sophisticated, well-informed audience, able to make connections without large neon arrows, and aware of nuance. intelligence helps.

i originally watched this film because it was set in iceland. i watched it a second time, and am buying the dvd, because of all the subtle, quiet bits of staging, the wonderful dialogue, its absurdity, the quality of the performances, and the density of meaning and references--not only the obvious, but possibly the obscure: does this scene reference morality plays? does the movie satirize quest legends?

this film reminds me of a review the author dick francis once got--the reviewer said that francis leaves much unsaid but nothing unexpressed.

if you prefer to actively participate in a performance, to have your mind as well as your emotions engaged, this is a film you will enjoy. if every motivation and action has to be explained to you by several minutes of dialogue, look somewhere else.

Half the text should be cut out of this movie...it is poorly written, contains no suspense, and some scenes are far too long and drawn out with absolutely nothing interesting happening...the characters are mostly poorly developed with very little personality, the sexual tension is virtually non-existant, the major twists in the plot are not explained fully, which makes for disjointed viewing, and apart from the ending there is nothing particularly interesting or new about the movie from either a science fiction or a special effects perspective. Watching frog guts for half the movie just does not cut it in terms of interesting science fiction-in fact it seems totally unrealistic that the entire game system is made of flesh and guts...finally, the part that annoyed me the most was when "Pikul" asks why the "bioports" in the spinal column don't get infected because "they open straight into your body", and Jennifer Jason Leigh says "don't be ridiculous, listen to what you're saying" and then opens her mouth. The mouth is not "opening" straight into the human body as would a hole directly into flesh, organs, or the spine, in fact the entire digestive column can be considered as an entirely separate hollow tube inside of the body, with membranes to control what passes in and out of what is actually part of the human body. I found this movie was a waste of my time and just plain annoying.

I like David Cronenberg movies. But this one was quite disappointing. I didn't look at the year the movie was created and thought that it's some earlier Cronenberg' work so undeveloped the movie was. It turned out the movie was made in 1999. Although the spirit and environment of the movie is typical Cronenberg, the plot is hardly original, chaotic and not convincing (and it doesn't mean that I don't like complicatedly structured movies). The only bright spot is the acting (as always) of Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law.

I'm a devoted David Cronenberg fan and he has never put out a movie that was below his capabilities. His last film Crash was a disturbing look at the human fscination with sex and violence. Brilliantly done with style and mastery. Dead Ringers is another brilliant film about the slow and painful process of the debasement of the human mind and soul. This film reminds me of Cronenberg's earlier works such as Scanners and Videodrome. But this movie comes across more polished and with a bigger budget. I admire Cronenberg's ability to send moral lessons in his endless flowing creativity. Where Videodrome attacked the television, eXistenZ takes on videogames. His grim portrait of an empty and thoughtless society that relies on technology to passify their thirst for excitement and fill their everyday lives. Cronenberg's supreme direction along with great acting and a wonderfully twisted ending make this a treat for one's imagination and definitley ranks as one of Cronenberg's finest, along side of Videodrome and, the greatest film of all time, Naked Lunch.

I really tried to enjoy this film, but what a bore! Ebert & Roeper must have been held at gunpoint to rate this as "Two Thumbs Up." Not even Milla and Nastassja could save this movie. Don't even waste your time watching this flick and awaiting the "shocking connection to Dillon . . . one that could devastate his town, his life and his empire." Anyone could see it coming a mile away, and even so, who cares? Certainly not the townspeople. Not for a moment did this script or the characters hold my interest. Everyone was underdeveloped. Milla looked tired and sweaty, and she annoyed the heck out of me with her awful singing. Nastassja was on her death bed throughout the movie, and so I couldn't even appreciate her beauty and talent, and her daughter, Sarah Polley, couldn't stop saying "thank you."

Though the film had beautiful photography I couldn't help but wonder, what was the purpose of some shots being out of focus? It was a distraction more than anything else, because it most certainly did not lend to the mood. I'm keeping this only because of Natassja, and even so, I won't be viewing this again for a long time.

That's the conclusion I came to while watching The Claim. I have not yet read The Mayor of Casterbridge, but Winterbottom's frigid Sierra adaptation left me cold, and not in the intended sense. What could easily have been a compelling film was thwarted by its own presentation. I lost count of the excruciating, wooden attempts at accompanied singing and poetry recitation I was forced to endure at full length, where just a sampling would have sufficed. The portrayals here tend to hold us at arms-length, as we watch the characters go through the fate-driven motions of their dreary Gold Rush existence. Hope (Sarah Polley) in particular is so flat and lifeless and underdeveloped that setting her up as a romantic interest lacked credibility. I welcome subtlety, but here plot comprehension is fatally hindered by technical problems. Seen in flashbacks, the younger versions of characters bear scant resemblance to their latter-day counterparts. More than once, the idiosyncratic camera blurring had me shouting "Focus!!!" in frustration (although the rest of the cinematography is beautiful). Important figures like Dillon have thick accents, and their intelligibility was not improved by the omnipresent background noise and obtrusive scoring with which the director gleefully assaults us. Whistling winds, squalling infants, noisy saloon ambiance, and horribly out-of-tune pianos all conspire to drown out dialogue, and when these are lacking, an emotionally overwrought score swells to take their place. I had to infer Dillon's lines because I couldn't understand a word he said. If I were Sheriff, the sort of frontier justice exemplified in this film would be summarily applied to studios who can't be bothered to include ENGLISH SUBTITLES on their dvd releases! There's just no excuse for this. Ultimately, all the above makes me wish I had just retired to the davenport with a cup of tea and Hardy's novel, and spared myself the myriad annoyances of this film.

a great cast makes this work. Michael Winterbottom directs another powerful and passionate film alongside his earlier film Jude with Kate Winslet and Christopher Eccelston. Nastassja Kinski and Sarah Polley come to a small town where a long secret will reveal. Peter Mullan is the man in charge of the town and the secret reflects on him. Wes Bently is the man who is going to build a railroad across the country connecting into the middle and Milla Jovovich plays a prositute. wonderfully acted and dramatic. the part where Kinski dies I cryed like a baby because they killed something beauticul

I really tried to enjoy this film, but what a bore! Ebert & Roeper must have been held at gunpoint to rate this as "Two Thumbs Up." Not even Milla and Nastassja could save this movie. Don't even waste your time watching this flick and awaiting the "shocking connection to Dillon . . . one that could devastate his town, his life and his empire." Anyone could see it coming a mile away, and even so, who cares? Certainly not the townspeople. Not for a moment did this script or the characters hold my interest. Everyone was underdeveloped. Milla looked tired and sweaty, and she annoyed the heck out of me with her awful singing. Nastassja was on her death bed throughout the movie, and so I couldn't even appreciate her beauty and talent, and her daughter, Sarah Polley, couldn't stop saying "thank you."

Though the film had beautiful photography I couldn't help but wonder, what was the purpose of some shots being out of focus? It was a distraction more than anything else, because it most certainly did not lend to the mood. I'm keeping this only because of Natassja, and even so, I won't be viewing this again for a long time.

That's the conclusion I came to while watching The Claim. I have not yet read The Mayor of Casterbridge, but Winterbottom's frigid Sierra adaptation left me cold, and not in the intended sense. What could easily have been a compelling film was thwarted by its own presentation. I lost count of the excruciating, wooden attempts at accompanied singing and poetry recitation I was forced to endure at full length, where just a sampling would have sufficed. The portrayals here tend to hold us at arms-length, as we watch the characters go through the fate-driven motions of their dreary Gold Rush existence. Hope (Sarah Polley) in particular is so flat and lifeless and underdeveloped that setting her up as a romantic interest lacked credibility. I welcome subtlety, but here plot comprehension is fatally hindered by technical problems. Seen in flashbacks, the younger versions of characters bear scant resemblance to their latter-day counterparts. More than once, the idiosyncratic camera blurring had me shouting "Focus!!!" in frustration (although the rest of the cinematography is beautiful). Important figures like Dillon have thick accents, and their intelligibility was not improved by the omnipresent background noise and obtrusive scoring with which the director gleefully assaults us. Whistling winds, squalling infants, noisy saloon ambiance, and horribly out-of-tune pianos all conspire to drown out dialogue, and when these are lacking, an emotionally overwrought score swells to take their place. I had to infer Dillon's lines because I couldn't understand a word he said. If I were Sheriff, the sort of frontier justice exemplified in this film would be summarily applied to studios who can't be bothered to include ENGLISH SUBTITLES on their dvd releases! There's just no excuse for this. Ultimately, all the above makes me wish I had just retired to the davenport with a cup of tea and Hardy's novel, and spared myself the myriad annoyances of this film.

a great cast makes this work. Michael Winterbottom directs another powerful and passionate film alongside his earlier film Jude with Kate Winslet and Christopher Eccelston. Nastassja Kinski and Sarah Polley come to a small town where a long secret will reveal. Peter Mullan is the man in charge of the town and the secret reflects on him. Wes Bently is the man who is going to build a railroad across the country connecting into the middle and Milla Jovovich plays a prositute. wonderfully acted and dramatic. the part where Kinski dies I cryed like a baby because they killed something beauticul

I really tried to enjoy this film, but what a bore! Ebert & Roeper must have been held at gunpoint to rate this as "Two Thumbs Up." Not even Milla and Nastassja could save this movie. Don't even waste your time watching this flick and awaiting the "shocking connection to Dillon . . . one that could devastate his town, his life and his empire." Anyone could see it coming a mile away, and even so, who cares? Certainly not the townspeople. Not for a moment did this script or the characters hold my interest. Everyone was underdeveloped. Milla looked tired and sweaty, and she annoyed the heck out of me with her awful singing. Nastassja was on her death bed throughout the movie, and so I couldn't even appreciate her beauty and talent, and her daughter, Sarah Polley, couldn't stop saying "thank you."

Though the film had beautiful photography I couldn't help but wonder, what was the purpose of some shots being out of focus? It was a distraction more than anything else, because it most certainly did not lend to the mood. I'm keeping this only because of Natassja, and even so, I won't be viewing this again for a long time.

That's the conclusion I came to while watching The Claim. I have not yet read The Mayor of Casterbridge, but Winterbottom's frigid Sierra adaptation left me cold, and not in the intended sense. What could easily have been a compelling film was thwarted by its own presentation. I lost count of the excruciating, wooden attempts at accompanied singing and poetry recitation I was forced to endure at full length, where just a sampling would have sufficed. The portrayals here tend to hold us at arms-length, as we watch the characters go through the fate-driven motions of their dreary Gold Rush existence. Hope (Sarah Polley) in particular is so flat and lifeless and underdeveloped that setting her up as a romantic interest lacked credibility. I welcome subtlety, but here plot comprehension is fatally hindered by technical problems. Seen in flashbacks, the younger versions of characters bear scant resemblance to their latter-day counterparts. More than once, the idiosyncratic camera blurring had me shouting "Focus!!!" in frustration (although the rest of the cinematography is beautiful). Important figures like Dillon have thick accents, and their intelligibility was not improved by the omnipresent background noise and obtrusive scoring with which the director gleefully assaults us. Whistling winds, squalling infants, noisy saloon ambiance, and horribly out-of-tune pianos all conspire to drown out dialogue, and when these are lacking, an emotionally overwrought score swells to take their place. I had to infer Dillon's lines because I couldn't understand a word he said. If I were Sheriff, the sort of frontier justice exemplified in this film would be summarily applied to studios who can't be bothered to include ENGLISH SUBTITLES on their dvd releases! There's just no excuse for this. Ultimately, all the above makes me wish I had just retired to the davenport with a cup of tea and Hardy's novel, and spared myself the myriad annoyances of this film.

a great cast makes this work. Michael Winterbottom directs another powerful and passionate film alongside his earlier film Jude with Kate Winslet and Christopher Eccelston. Nastassja Kinski and Sarah Polley come to a small town where a long secret will reveal. Peter Mullan is the man in charge of the town and the secret reflects on him. Wes Bently is the man who is going to build a railroad across the country connecting into the middle and Milla Jovovich plays a prositute. wonderfully acted and dramatic. the part where Kinski dies I cryed like a baby because they killed something beauticul