There are a lot of things to like about this surprisingly good film. The lack of the mainstream American squeamishness about the human body and sexuality is refreshing. The actors give excellent performances, especially Bridges. Although the subject matter is dark, it is not dealt with in a maudlin manner and there is a certain playfulness that runs through the film.
My major problem is that the characters don't quite ring true and it's because as Bridges' points out, the lack of attention to details. I understand completely the Basinger character - she is a self-centered narcissist with an Oedipus complex (actually, I guess it'd be Jocastean...) and this is apparent in the way she abandons her daughter and takes all the pictures for herself. She was always this way to some extent even if her sons had not died (as Bridges points out at one point) but the tragedy just made this more apparent. This *is* in the film but I felt that it was soft-pedaled to make the mother a more sympathetic tragic figure.
The entire conflict between Bridges and Basinger also doesn't quite make sense. Bridges apparently knows his wife well enough to give her a young lover resembling her son, and knows that she is a terrible mother but can't figure out that Basinger has no interest in custody of the daughter, something that the audience figures out very quickly. Also, it's not clear whether the break-up is a manipulative one (which it appears at times) or a congenial one which it appears at times. Again I think it is the attempt to soften the mother's character which I suspect is not in the novel which creates this confusion.
Finally, the answer to the mystery of what happened to the boys is simply not credible. I grew up in a snowy environment and even if you were too stupid to wipe the snow off your car the motion of the car will displace most of the snow and the heat of the rear lights will quickly melt any snow that remains making the car visible. Also we know that the vehicle behind had its high beams on as it lit up the interior of the car several seconds before (as described by Bridges) and there would the reflection off the mirror and rear windshield to make the car visible long enough to swerve. Again, lack of attention to details.
Overall though, a good thought provoking and courageous film if you overlook some of the details. It could have been a great one if it had the cajones to fully confront the remnants of the Leave it to Beaver world-view...
My major problem is that the characters don't quite ring true and it's because as Bridges' points out, the lack of attention to details. I understand completely the Basinger character - she is a self-centered narcissist with an Oedipus complex (actually, I guess it'd be Jocastean...) and this is apparent in the way she abandons her daughter and takes all the pictures for herself. She was always this way to some extent even if her sons had not died (as Bridges points out at one point) but the tragedy just made this more apparent. This *is* in the film but I felt that it was soft-pedaled to make the mother a more sympathetic tragic figure.
The entire conflict between Bridges and Basinger also doesn't quite make sense. Bridges apparently knows his wife well enough to give her a young lover resembling her son, and knows that she is a terrible mother but can't figure out that Basinger has no interest in custody of the daughter, something that the audience figures out very quickly. Also, it's not clear whether the break-up is a manipulative one (which it appears at times) or a congenial one which it appears at times. Again I think it is the attempt to soften the mother's character which I suspect is not in the novel which creates this confusion.
Finally, the answer to the mystery of what happened to the boys is simply not credible. I grew up in a snowy environment and even if you were too stupid to wipe the snow off your car the motion of the car will displace most of the snow and the heat of the rear lights will quickly melt any snow that remains making the car visible. Also we know that the vehicle behind had its high beams on as it lit up the interior of the car several seconds before (as described by Bridges) and there would the reflection off the mirror and rear windshield to make the car visible long enough to swerve. Again, lack of attention to details.
Overall though, a good thought provoking and courageous film if you overlook some of the details. It could have been a great one if it had the cajones to fully confront the remnants of the Leave it to Beaver world-view...