Sindre Kaspersen
English screenwriter and director Emily Young's second feature film which was written by American screenwriter, producer and director Larry Cross and screenwriter Roberta Hanley, is an adaptation of a novel from 1998 by Brazillian author, lyricist and musician Paulo Coehlo. It was shot on location in New York, USA and is an American production which was produced by producers Sriram P. Das, Jonathan Bross and Chris Hanley. It tells the story about a woman named Veronika Deklava who after having attempted to take her one life ends up in a coma and wakes up two weeks later at a psychiatric facility called Vilette where she is told by doctors that she has an incurable aneurism in the heart.Finely and subtly directed by British filmmaker Emily Young, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated by the main character and from multiple viewpoints, draws a heartrending portrayal of a woman in some kind of existentialistic crises who learns that she will die and that death might occur at any given moment. While notable for it's naturalistic milieu depictions, fine production design by production designer John Nyomarkay and cinematography by cinematographer Seamus Tierney, this narrative-driven story about a newly committed patient who begins changing her pessimistic views on life after talking to a psychiatrist named Alex Blake, depicts some empathic studies of character and contains a timely score by English composer Murray Gold.This quiet, at times atmospheric and modestly romantic drama which is set mostly at a privately funded institution near the Hudson River in New York where an assistant account executive becomes more aware of the greatness in living when she befriends a young man who has stopped speaking, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, endearing characters, witty use of music and the commendable acting performances by American actresses Sarah Michelle Gellar, Melissa Leo, Erika Christensen, American actor Jonathan Tucker and English actor David Thewlis. A reflective, humane and life-affirming character piece from the late 2000s.
Thomas Nielsen
Bearing some similarities with "Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself" I was somewhat skeptic from the start but quickly realised this had something else to offer. Cinematography was beautiful as were the sceneries, but acting as a whole was terrible. Dr. Blake was really quite good and Edward showed glimpses of greatness but that was all. For someone sinking, Veronika showed remarkable composure throughout and the attempt to show the patients as the only truly sane went completely overboard and lost the subtlety that would have been so becoming. The underlying story is good but implementation simply didn't do it justice. And what is it with these "Victorian" asylums? Surely they *did* exist in latter days - but this weird fusion between modern day therapy and a 100 year old perception of lunacy is contrived at best.
sampadmania
it is much different from the novel itself, i must confess i enjoyed the novel much more than watching this movie. there were some mistakes and some misunderstandings audience may occur during watching, 1- veronica lived in different place 2- she was never married before. 3- she never saw an old woman walking pass the street while she was dying instead she saw a young man smiling at her, and she smiled back then he waved at her. 4- schizophrenic boy named Edward used to talk with that lawyer, but never in public. 5- she had some serious heart attacks by her pills but never mentioned. 6- when they wanted to start treatment on Edward they did it by electric shock which makes him lose his memory, but he could remember Veronica anyway.
kshitij (axile007)
The first thing: I have not read the novel so this review is purely based on the what I saw on the screen, indifferent of how its being adopted from the book. And again Sarah Michelle Gellar scores with her performance as an innocent girl. I think she was the best suited for this role. So before discussing the story, which I guess most of you, would be acquainted with I want to talk about the direction which was the strength of the movie. The movie is not at all boring and characters are well handled .There were given a chance to fit in their respective roles. So I liked the acting and conversation between the characters very much. But still I can't say that the movie is flawless.As I finished watching the movie I found myself pretty satisfied with acting, story and movie overall. But still I get a feel that something was missing in the movie something that could have put this one in different league of top movies, the kind of movies which are award-worthy. One thing was lesser publicity, but leave that reason behind ...truth is maybe I could not digest the whole plot. Let me make myself clearer and discuss the storyline.Veronica (SMG) is a suicidal girl, she unsuccessfully tried to kill herself and was later admitted to a mental institution(kind of) for recovery. The doctor and other staffs of hospital tried to change her mindset and make her believe that life is worth living. But why she wanted to die? What she was expecting from her life, that she did not get? What happiness exactly meant to her? Was she seeking only love in her life? May be you wont find the proper answers to these questions ,but considering the fact that movie is purely based on the novel it wont be appropriate to question the storyline of the movie. So for me watching this movie was a nice experience.
AD
