*****

Lullaby-sp– We gave this film our highest rating but we suggest that you think twice before you go to see it. It is about Robert Lowenstein (Richard Jenkins), a very successful wealthy man with lung cancer who has been battling his disease for 12 years and decides he is ready to die. Rachel (Ann Archer) his loving wife is at his side. Jonathan, his cigarette smoking son (Garrett Hedlund), the not so successful musician who hasn’t been around for many years finally comes to town (New York) and his bedside. As does his daughter (Jessica Brown Findlay), the Ivy League law student who soon will try to make a legal brief to convince her father why he should not agree to physician assisted suicide, which she contends is against the constitution. But early on, as soon as they all assembled at his bedside, the father announces that he has given away all his money so they won’t all become dependent on his wealth and not live out their own lives by their own abilities (including his wife). This becomes a story of a sometimes-dysfunctional family who underneath it all had great love for each other. It isn’t difficult to find some issues to identify with as the family conflicts unfold and it will be impossible not feel the emotion as you put your self in the shoes of all the characters as they appreciate the father’s pain and his need to say goodbye. If this were not enough to make this a tissue pack or damp handkerchief movie, there is another element that will tear you apart. Through a chance hospital stairwell meeting, Jonathan meets a 17-year-old girl (Jessica Barden in a perfect wonderful performance) who is dying of bone cancer baldhead and all. She confronts him with his underlying ambivalence about his father. He is drawn to visit her on the children’s ward where he sees many kids who are dying as his father, the difference being that most of then will never experience even adolescence. We don’t think this film despite our top rating is perfect. There are moments, which are played out to an almost gratuitous level to achieve every extra bit of emotion. The introduction of Jonathan’s ex-girlfriend (Amy Adams), while used to show the son’s personal growth, seems unnecessary. Despite this movie being almost 2 hours, it is sure to rivet your attention and take control of your feelings. This must be the reason why this outstanding cast, which also included Jennifer Hudson and Terrance Howard, as the nurse and doctor, as well as the stars previously mentioned, all signed on to this independent production. This film could not have had the budget, which they all usually command. Credit has to be given to Andrew Levitas, who is an established painter and sculptor, as well as a film producer. He directed and wrote this screenplay, stimulated by his experience of his father’s dying and his return home. He creatively broadened his story to encompass the potentially painful and beautiful life defining moments of the end of life. (2014)

* * * * *
The Secret Life of Bees – nf – One of us read the book and the other didn’t but we both were transfixed by the by this view of the racial tensions in the south in the 1960s. The movie follows the journey 14-year-old Lilly (Dakota Fanning) as she escapes her abusive father and seeks to find out if the mother that she lost at age 4 through tragic circumstances that involved her own hand, had loved her or totally rejected her. She is joined in her quest by her black friend and caregiver Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson). They are drawn to the home of August Boatwright (Queen Latifah) and her two sisters (Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo) which turns our to have a special connection for her. Boatwright is the wise sage of the story who also understands bees and is the maker of honey (the real bee stuff and the sweetness of this character). Despite the recent civil rights act, the hatred and bigotry and its toll are illustrated in this film in very human terms. The best selling novel by Sue Monk Kidd and the screenplay by Gina Prince-Blythwood provided ample opportunity for full expressions of feelings and powerful interactions between the characters under the direction of Ms. Prince-Blythwood. Although there was only a hint of song in the film, Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah showed that they are perhaps just as talented as actors as they are singers. Alicia Keys known for her singing also did a great acting job. Sophie Okonedo was outstanding in a difficult role where she had played the disturbed sister who radiated warmth and love but struggled with an incurable emotional pain. Young Dakota Fanning was brilliant as the young girl searching for the truth and the interactions with Paul Bettany who played her father were electrifying. If you haven’t seen this film, it belongs on your Netflix list. (2008)