Very well executed

A Major Disappointment

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Not one viewer has commented on the age difference between Dorff and Sarandon...I can't believe it. My daughter and I watched this together, and couldn't wait to get online to check out their birthdates. 1946 and 1973....hard to get past that! The movie itself was awesome...fun and easy to imagine (or wish) that this could truly take place. Sarandon did a SUPER job with her role...a very believable bored wife. Dorff...well, he's Stephen Dorff...what more needs to be said!? He's a great actor who could get by on his looks but doesn't have to. Their interaction is wonderful. Makes a girl think she should hang out in banks until this happens for real!

There are real sparks here between Sarandon and Dorff and their performances give Earthly Possessions some real emotional weight. I've never been much impressed with Dorff in the past, but playing against Sarandon seems to lift him to a new level as an actor. His physicality serves him well in this role and Jake's hotheaded moments are both funny and slightly threatening (a hard line to walk). Sarandon builds her character so effortlessly that all of Charlotte's personality just magically appears before the viewer. Is there anything she can't do as an actress? The screenplay shows some big changes from Anne Tyler's book, but it does do a good job of capturing the novel's quirky mix of drama and comedy. Many people mention dissatisfaction with the movie's ending and I felt it too. In the novel the ending feels natural and right, but it's as if this screenplay didn't quite take into account the sexual sparks that would be generated between the two leads. Because Sarandon and Dorff have this chemistry together and do such a great job showing the characters challenging each other to be better people, the inclusion of the girlfriend and the "earthly" resolution feel like intruders in a great romantic drama. It left me wishing that instead of an adaptation of Tyler's book (which deals with taking responsibility for choices), the movie was just a continuation of Charlotte and Jake's journey together. In the movie, you just KNOW that their being together is right, even if this isn't the message in the screenplay; that difference leaves the viewer dissatisfied. In a way though, it is more satisfying that the movie doesn't have a pat ending and Charlotte and Jake's relationship is more complicated than it has to be. Movies that challenge our expectations are rare enough these days.

I love this movie it`s a romantic movie where the thief falls in love with the hostage... so romantic and Stephen Dorff is gorgeous!!! I mean I would not complain if Stephen Dorff or some other hunk took me as a hostage and we fall in love...! Anyway back to the movie, Susan is as great as ever and in this role she turns from a boring house wife to a sexy woman that wants to divorce her husband. I like this movie because it`s so warm and romantic and Stephen Dorff is so pretty!!! //sofia

Based on the famous syndrome of Stockholm, this very entertaining film likes at the same moment of the road movie and the romantic comedy. Fertile in events and in new developments, the history is situated in the vein of "Thelma & Louise", analogy was strengthened by Susan Sarandon's presence. As usual, the actress shows himself excellent, served well by sparkling dialogues there. And when to Stephen Dorff ("Blade"), he confirms that his talent does not limit itself to its beautiful mouth.