Brenda Blethyn is phenomenal in this.

27 Haziran 08 & aile iliskilerini anlatan, diyologlarin basarisi ve muzik kullanimi ile hafizama kazinmis olan, unutulmasi guc bir film.Brenda Blethyn'in oyunculugu filmi tasimakta.

Very, very british. This means amazing dialoge and acting, and terrible lighting and camerawork.

Holy shit, awkwardness galore! It's truly amazing to watch as these various lives cross paths, headed for the inevitable clash as it slowly becomes clear how all the stories fit together. The acting is superb and the direction has some inspired moments that really capture the human aspects of these situations. A wonderful ending as well, there's little to criticize beyond the emotional toll it can take to watch it, but even that is deftly tempered by some lighter moments.

Good film.

Brenda Blethyn was simply perfect, great film.

The filmmaker simply lets his actors develope their characters and the situations they find themselves in, which means the movie is very character-driven, realistic. Visually, it's poor and the pacing is very calm. Not for everyone, maybe not for me either!

Incredibly strong acting, touching and real -- with some great twists.

Made me want to see more of Brenda Blethyn, but I'm not generally a Mike Leigh fan.

don't remember well, could be anywhere from 80 - 90, so just went with RT average rating.

Emotionally exhilirating. The whole thing is just riveting in its awkwardness, its realism, its deft mix of humour and emotion (the former complimenting the latter making it feel more sincere, truthful and effective), its sheer level of compassion for these characters, the intelligent look at its subject matter (which includes, but is not limited to, adoption, parenting, the class divide, race and family). Terrific stuff. "Secrets and lies! We're all in pain! Why can't we share our pain?"

A well-acted film. However the ending was a disappointment. It was also very convenient to have the rather young main character's parents already deceased, allowing the writer to entirely avoid the dynamic between the natural family and the adoptive family. The omission of any information about the father was also unconvincing, since I doubt the adopted woman would stop asking about her father until she got the truth. Despite all this it's an impressive film.

Looks so fresh and has cutting lucid moments, but I'd say it's less than an improvement on Life Is Sweet. i.e. it's still brilliant, anyway.

Can't believe this got the palm d'Or. The reason it did is that it is actually secretly about film itself. A few good ideas, but so what, a film should have a few good ideas.

Superb. The performances are great, Blethyn and Spall being the cream of the crop. Leigh's preproduction method ensures maximum believability. Only nitpick would be an ending that seemed maybe a little too clean for real life, especially for these characters.

Failed To Make Me Feel But You Can Watch

Hardcore family drama.

This was my first Mike Leigh film, and from what I understand, the most accessible and "mainstream"... Great as a Mike Leigh "starter" film. Try it. You'll want to see more of his stuff...

At first it seems like a fairly routine family drama, but as these characters work their way under your skin, they develop rich complexities and rewarding relationships. The results are intensely moving, and I'm not ashamed to admit that by the end I was a blubbering wreck. Not a note of it seems phony, contrived or forced. The cast is brilliant across the board. A warm, touching, magnificent look at family, the barriers that keep them apart, and the roles and disguises we maintain.