moonspinner55
It's always good to see Mia Farrow at work, but she's lost among the snowflakes in this hectic disaster. Farrow, playing wife to Tony Goldwyn (though he's young enough to be her son), appears to be living an idyllic life inside a winter wonderland until one day when she gets a startling dose of reality: her husband admits he's hired a man to kill her. She flees into the night, taking refuge with a bizarre couple who want to help rebuild her existence. Screenwriter Craig Lucas adapted his own play (and brought with it that ridiculous title), and so has no one else to blame for the picture's bumpy rhythm and off-putting characters. The production design and art direction of "Reckless" are both rather interesting, although they are services rendered for an inane and alienating screenplay. It's supposed to be a dark holiday comedy, though the entire cast is at a loss with this unfunny, occasionally offensive material. *1/2 from ****
dbborroughs
Walking out of the current (October 2004) revival of the Craig Lucas play I overheard a couple talking about the film version of the play and it suddenly came back to me why it all seemed familiar, I saw it on TV several years ago.The story of how a woman who's husband can't take her any more and hires a hit man to kill her, only to send her away before he arrives is a very strange story. No one and nothing is who they seem to be. And the twists and turns seem rather random. The whole bit about visiting every Springfield in the country is just plain dumb. The dialog is clever at times but mostly it seems forced. Worse is the fact that this probably should never have been made into a film. The play which is full of whimsey and is stylized does not translate into a film well. The actors are okay but many are completely wrong for the roles. The Goldwyn/Farrow coupling doesn't quite work so the story isn't believable from the get go.If given the choice of play versus movie go for the play where the whimsey works better, however you would be better off renting or seeing pretty much anything else.5 out of 10 for the bits that work.Side Note: Mary Louise Parker who plays Pootie and a couple other members of the cast of this film are in the current Broadway production. Obviously they are gluttons for punishment
surrealkitten
This metaphorical story of a woman leaving her husband and coming to terms with the sadness in her life is filmed as if everything is a dream. Mia Farrow plays a truly epic character, and her strength in the role finally proves her more than a beautiful waif. Even the smallest elements are connected to the larger center of the picture, and no strange story is left unexplained. A real joy.
philler2
I recently was in a stage version of this play. And, on the last day of the run, I was excited to see that it was going to be playing on TV. I stuck a tape in as it was on late at night, and I watched it the next day. I have to say I was very disappointed. The actors in the film made few of the discovers that are in the script. That is understandable as the resersal process is probably different, but it was upsetting to see. A lot of the original script was changed for the movie as well to make it better for the screen, but I am not sure if it helped the movie out at all. I gave this 4 stars only because I know the script and the writing is a lot better than what this movie portrays.
AD
