Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Awesome Movie

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Diane Keaton plays herself, hitch script where she speaks the same way she does in movies over most recent years, except not funny! The story shows a love that can't get going - one can feel why. No sparks even when they are seemingly clicking along. Set in a time when an unusual relationship coiled flourish, these two bore each other and the viewer. Diane Lane looks beautiful, but is equally unable to get going. Disappointing flick with terrific actors wasting their time and mine! No wonder film never took off - the story doesn't. I love Sam Shepard but he too asks little of himself here, no fire until the very end, but he'd already lost me!

Reece (Sam Shepard) is a used clothing store owner who meets up with Carol (Diane Keaton) when she asks for his help. She would like his referrals for potential sewing jobs, as she is a widow supporting her young daughter. Reece's wife is in a vegetative state, with no chance for improvement. Yet, despite the attraction between Carol and himself, Reece keeps Carol at arm's length and does not acknowledge his feelings. This goes on for years and years. Meanwhile, Carol's daughter falls for Reece's son but they, too, play a cat and mouse game for more than a decade. Seems Catherine, the daughter, wants her freedom and moves about the country, returning to connect with the son from time to time. Will anyone of these people wake up and smell the roses? This love story, with an only an undercurrent of emotion, might leave the viewer cold. The principal actors are all very fine but the story is a total downer, despite a bit of hope at the finish. The Texas setting is nicely realized and the costumes quite lovely, if that counts for much. If you love Keaton or Shepard, you might want to take a chance with this film. But, anyone who sits down to view the movie, beware. You will not be watching a typical love story, only a long drawn out look at the possibilities of romance.

At the beginning of the movie Reece McHenry (Sam Shepard) has a moral dilemma. His wife has been in a coma for an extended period and though he is lonely, feels he must remain faithful. Carol Fitzsimmons (Diane Keaton) enters his life and the relationship they develop over a thirty year period becomes the key theme of the movie. Unfortunately we never find out when (or if) Reece's wife ever dies, which is a key factor in understanding the principal characters' motivations and actions. This is a tender love story with subplots that take a too long to develop their connection to one another. Otherwise, the superb performances by Keaton and Shepard make this motion picture a delight.

This movie is so brilliant that it's hard to even talk about it because it stirs up so many emotions inside me. The acting is out of this world. Diane Keaton is so incredible, like she usually is. And Sam Shepard is exceptional as well. And let's not forget Diane Lane and Robert Patrick. The whole cast is perfect. The story brings me to tears just thinking about it. I cried (and cried HARD) for literally hours. I own the movie now and it has really affected my life and the way I see things. It is not to be over-looked or unseen. You won't regret it. You'll fall in love with the characters just like I did. And you'll feel for them every step of the way. *****/*****