I generally don't enjoy films that deliberately pull on your heart strings, I usually really resent that, in fact. Generally my main criteria in watching a movie is that I must be entertained. However, this powerful, affecting movie really pulled me in. I don't know why I started watching it, the subject matter would normally repel me, but I simply couldn't stop watching because most things in the film were just so believable. Michael Keaton gives an absolutely killer performance as a businessman dying of untreatable cancer. The story is pretty simple-- he basically is on a quest for inner peace, after a holistic healer convinces him he can die happier if he can let go of his anger. The fact is, part of what makes this movie so good is that the baggage Keaton carries around from childhood is nothing earth shattering; in fact it's fairly mundane and similar to what most of us feel. I found myself sobbing, even weeping, for the last half hour of the film-- watch this one alone if you don't want anyone else to see you doing this! Not a fun movie you can watch over and over, but very thought provoking and worth while. I have no idea how Keaton was overlooked for an Oscar nomination in this fine film.
