Hard to rate ... I really enjoyed it, but it was slow, slightly disconnected ... but definitely an enjoyable film - Jude Law is very good - a low-key kind of a guy with dreams bigger than his life, now running a late-night cafe with blueberry pie that no one ever eats, except the distraught girl who comes in one night to leave some keys with him, keys a former boyfriend gave her.
The rest of the cast mostly good ... but it's the kind of story I like: human interest, snapshots of people and life.
Nora Jones is sweet, but seemed to lack passion, energy.
Natalie Portman is cast as a rich-kid gambler taught by her daddy, but mostly down on her luck. Affecting a western drawl - not sure - trying to play a toughed personae, but her face, her personality, a little too sweet for this kind of role. But I'd give her an A for effort.
Aside from Jude Law, Rachel Weisz gave a fine performance as an abused lady shunning the love of a man utterly devoted to her - David Strathairn - also excellent in his low-key manner, playing a cop who marries this beautiful woman he once pulled over for speeding.
The story might have been better told ... I wish the up-front part of the story could have been told a bit more quickly ... felt like several movies begging to be made, but collated into a less than satisfying melange. It needed focus; I was never quite sure where the heart of the story was at least in it's telling. But then, maybe that's life.
Don't get me wrong. I liked it ... never once feel asleep, enjoyed the script, had a few laughs ... but would have liked to see more passion pulled out of the actors and the story.
A challenge to the director perhaps?
