Families are never easy

FILM ONLY REVIEW

Isabel Kelly is in love with Luke, an older man who has been married before and has two children. Unfortunately the children do not like her in their fathers life and make things hard for her. Luke is trying his best to make everyone get along but it is soon apparent that his ex-wife Jackie is also not happy with Isabel so makes it even harder for the children to get on with her.

Isabel finally gets chance to prove herself to Jackie by looking after the children Anna and Ben for a weekend but things go wrong and Isabel is left feeling awful. Soon Jackie learns she has cancer so has no choice to lean of Isabel a little to have the children more but can she get over the fear of Isabel being a second mother to her children to make things work and just how long can she keep her illness a secret?

The deciding factor for me to watch this film was that it starred Julia Roberts and I always enjoy her films, she manages to help the story and really bring it to life and this film was no exception. I loved the storyline, despite it being sad at times and felt that t was very true to life and happening every day to another family. I felt that the subject matter of the illness was handled very well and not overly played to detract from the main story. The story was also helped and made more enjoyable and engaging by the fact we had some very good actors.

The lead role of Isabel was played by Julie Roberts and she was excellent, she made her character so interesting and easy to get to know and I felt she showed just enough emotion at the start of the film to be able to leave me wondering just why she was not able to connect with the children and become their friend. As the story moved on though we did get so see her soften and become more friendly to the children and focus less on her job. There was a good chemistry between her and Luck and they did not seem to be forcing their relationship and seemed very natural with each other. Luck was played by Ed Harris and he was also a very good character, he showed strength and weakness throughout the film and I liked the way he was able to play to both sides of the character. He seemed to have a lovely bond with his children and this came across well on screen.

A character which I had mixed feelings for was that of Jackie, she seemed very hard and quite nasty at the start of the film although she did mellow as the story progressed, I felt she was not doing the right thing by slagging of Isabel in front of her children and thought she was making their lives harder. She was played by Susan Sarandon and I thought she did a marvellous job with what she was given to work with. She managed to show and portray her illness very well and I was pleased with the way she chose to handle it. She too had a good bond with on screen children who were played by Jena Malone and Liam Aiken.

The issues raised in the story were all handled very well and with great sensitivity and towards the end of the film it did actually move me to tears, I was feeling quite emotional all through the second half of the film but for some reason the ending hit home as it am also a mother and really dread anything like this even having to be done by myself. It was acted to perfection and did make for some very gripping and powerful scenes.

The film was set in the modern day America so no real effort was needed for the props, sets or costumes. The film was actually made back in 1998 and this is noticeable from the clothes and state of the art technology which is used, the film does not look date though and it still very enjoyable to watch. There is no action in the film so special effects were needed and I think it would have spoilt the film completely if any would have been added. The music was good throughout and really helped with the telling of the story and setting the emotional scene. I would not personally go out and buy the soundtrack but it suited the film perfectly.

This is a film only review so there are no bonus features to speak about. The running time of the film is 124 minutes and I found this to be a great length with the story moving at a steady pace throughout. The rate is a 12 and personally I do agree with this as there is no violence or swearing involved but due to the subject matter I would advise caution to letting 12 year olds watch this as it is sad in places. The DVD can be bought for just a few pounds in most DVD shops and on line, it is shown on the TV quite a lot thought so try to catch it for free.


I am happy to recommend this film and give it a good strong 4 stars. The acting is excellent and the story is quite moving and powerful. I thoroughly enjoyed this film apart from the last 15 minutes when it reduced me to tears!