2/5 well acted and directed, just not that much there for a story
  by EugeSchu (WI USA)
i enjoyed the beginning of the movie and felt it was well executed.
original and off-beat composition and editing to begin. the actress who played the pregnant sister was also very convincing. unfortunately, i didn't feel the characters were well-developed or defined ultimately and we really didn't gain insight into their emotional machinations. i was left with a shallow feeling of unfulfillment after the movie. the socially and racially challenged starving artist added to the overall gloom and disaffected quality of the film

5/5 Small Town Jewell
  by Rodney J. Moss
A modest glimpse into small town southern life by city sophisticates, this is a disarmingly brilliant film. The jewell is Amy, whose warmth and naivety catches the city slicker off guard regards her priorities, and also forces her husband to realise the consequences of the decision he has made in his choice of partner. The film balances the perspectives of both sides with marvellous aplomb,and is peculiarly free of judgement. The soundtrack features Yo la Tango, but the film confines them to the credits, permitting the 'natural' aural landscape full sway, which augments the realism. Highly recommended!

1/5 The True Purpose of this Movie
  by TheProphetFromTrailopen.com (midwest)
When Obama was "politically amongst his own" in San Francisco he spoke of an America that "runs to its guns and religion" when the economy is down. This movie shows its idea of the America the Left-wing Marxists (liberals) actually "see" because they, like a cult, only stay with their own.

They believe America is like this if you disagree with them. You MUST be like these horrible southerners to disagree with liberal, elitist themes.

The female art dealer is raising money for Jesse Jackson at the beginning of the movie thru an art auction. This demonstrates the depth of the movie-maker's politics.
Just to show how "cool" she is, she has sex in the workplace just as a dog does it in the alley. This is proof of their "love", and in a most juvenile piece of filmaking (one wonders if the director ever made it sexually past adolescence himself) while in a speeding convertible the art dealer is talking on the phone while the male driver takes his hand and shoves it deep in between her legs. Wow, what JOY! What class! What Passion! What CRAP!!!!! Like a movie about sex made by virgins, lame directors try to show off what they know nothing about.

This reminds me of Crash, full of racists who also don't exist in any real numbers in real-life, but are abundant in the minds and hands of Hollywood, they're EVERYWHERE! Thus all southerners are beyond trash, beyond boring and beyond stupid. Just as anyone who would hire this director/producer team again would be; and anyone who would pay to see their work.

5/5 Superb drama of quiet desperate lives
  by Alan A. Elsner (Washington DC)
There is something almost Chekhovian about this quiet drama of trapped people living frustrated lives and it's enlightened by a sensational performance by Amy Adams.
It takes place in a snall town in North Carolina. George, the eldest son of the family, has escaped several years ago to Chicago and married stylish art gallery owner Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) who boasts a British accent and an obnoxious, condescending manner. Madeleine has located a primitive folk artist whose work she is anxious to show and who lives a short distance from George's family. And so the visit takes place.
George's family consists of his parents, his jealous, bitter, unsuccessful younger brother who in turn is married to the heavily-pregnant Ashley, played by Adams.
The arrival of outsiders exposes nerves and fissures in the family, bringing all their unhappiness to the surface. Ashley is living a fantasy marriage, stuck with a boy-man who is incapable of responding to her or shouldering an adult role. His pathetic attempts to pass his GED just illustrates his basic emotional inadequacy. Adams' performance is deeply touching. She is aware of every nuance of her character. Davidtz also gives a fine performance of a woman for whom gesture is all but has lost touch with genuine emotion. Every attempt she makes to get close to the family ends in a cringe-making failure, from her over-familiar kisses to her blatant failure even to remember her mother-in-law's name.
I recommend this quiet movie as a funny-sad exploration of the alientation that lurks within family life.

3/5 On the top of the picket fence
  by Aaron C. Wade (Ann Arbor, MI)
I sometimes come across movies where I am very much on the fence about whether I like them or not. Certain aspects of them tug me in both directions. I'll say firmly that the acting was top notch. The settings looked incredibly familiar. The cinematography was innovative and interesting. Unfortunately, there was nothing to tie it all together. The point of view keeps changing and at inconsistent methods. Sometimes you get to hear what certain people are talking about and then it jumps to another person or group meanwhile the first situation is still playing on. The disjoint causes feeling like I'm too a person in the house but have no control over where my body is taking me. Certain realistic issues are brought up with no explanation or closure. I'm not saying that's bad film making, because it is very representative of what I see in real life. However, that's one of the things in life that I don't enjoy very much. To me, a sad ending is a story that's been cut short. I'm disappointed by the thematic cliff that Amy Adams' Ashley is left on after her meltdown at the hospital. All we are treated to after that is an inaudible outburst over the phone to her enigmatic brooding husband. I gave the movie an honest chance, but it delivered a great set of characters with no explanations.