Absolutely brilliant

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Odd-ball movie. What could have been a decent story, instead fell victim to some very bad acting ... acting that was almost painful to watch ... it felt like the actors/actresses were totally uninterested in recording this.Based on a supposedly true story based in 1800's New Zealand with an almost unbelievable plot, the unbelievability of the plot is made even more inevitable by poor acting. Instead of driving home the point of the real-ness of the movie, the acting made it look like a joke.Watch it and be prepared to scratch your head at the end. You'll say to yourself: "either this was total baloney, or it was true, but the story very poorly told."

Being a big Jodie foster fan the first time i watched this I was a bit disappointed. It seemed a bit slow and boring. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this type movie.The next time I watched this movie with my lowered expectations, I found I actually enjoyed it. Really good acting. Great scenery(the first time I'd seen any of New Zealand).I liked the simple plot. A very young girl in an pre-arranged marriage with a man she has no love for, and who tells her she will spend her entire life with him on this island. This idea she cannot tolerate. By accidentally learning hypnotism, she then hypnotizes and slowly poisons him to death. By hypnotizing him, the posion he is given does not look like it was forced on him, so she is found not guilty of murder. She's free of him and the island.This isn't Silence of the Lambs, but I think its still worth a watch.

The film has a slow paced but interesting plot.The greatness of this film resides in the performances of Jodie Foster and John Lithgow. Foster's performance is understated but no less powerful. It is a joy to see her subtle facial expressions. Only an actress of Jodie's caliber can convey such strong emotions with so little, like a Rembrandt potrait. This contrasts with the totally different performance of Lithgow. His over the top histrionics are very appropriate to the character he plays.I enjoyed this film grealty, but most of all, these performances.

We thought this movie was wonderful. Movie fans who think Jodie Foster too stoic etc.here might reflect on the character's upbringing. She was a teenager raised with a questionable amount of love given her. In the two places she lived as child and child bride it made sense for her to "mind" and to be careful of showing her true feelings.Bravo.PS The closing credits are accompanied with uncredited Maori singing. At least I couldn;t see the group's name in the credits.