Confession (1937)
Vera (Kay Francis) is an opera singer who is about to retire and marry Leonide (Ian Hunter). Conductor—composer Michael (Basil Rathbone), a womaniser has not given up hope of seducing her. Vera marries, has a daughter Lisa ( as a teenager, Jane Bryan). War comes, and Leonide goes off to war.
Vera is persuaded to go out one night to a party, Michael is there, gets her drunk, and after she has passed out, has his wicked way. Michael keeps up his pursuit of her, Leonide finds out, takes his daughter and leaves.
Fifteen years go by and Vera has still not given up hope of finding her husband and daughter. Eventually she finds out that Leonide has died. He had remarried and Lisa does not know that her stepmother is not her real mother. After seeing her daughter, and realising that she cannot intrude, Vera leaves.
That night at a night club where Vera is singing Michael appears with what he expects will be his latest conquest, Lisa.
When Michael and Vera recognise each other he attempts to leave with the hopelessly smitten Lisa. Vera borrows a revolver and shoots him dead.
At the trial, she pleaded guilty and will give no reason for the murder. When a suitcase is produced which contains evidence to show why she has killed him. She agrees to tell her story, but only to a closed court, and on the understanding that her daughter will not find out the truth of her parentage.
She is found guilty, given a reduced sentence, and told that on application she will be granted a pardon.
I feel that this was a great performance by Kay Francis. I have always been unable to understand why she was never nominated for an Oscar. She appeared 69 movies and is listed as the star in 35 of them
WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Fossy, I absolutely love Confession. It's my fave Kay Francis performance. She's excellent, dark and tormented and strong.
The ending you described does not sound like the ending I remember, but perhaps I am getting it confused with another of the Madame X type films made in the 30's.
Confession is based almost shot for shot on a German film, but that shouldn't stop anyone from watching it. It's terrific! I'd love to see the original one day.
Maven, I thought Gifford excellent in both those films... and I enjoyed both movies which for me were quite new. It's always wonderful to discover a new classic.
The ending you described does not sound like the ending I remember, but perhaps I am getting it confused with another of the Madame X type films made in the 30's.
Confession is based almost shot for shot on a German film, but that shouldn't stop anyone from watching it. It's terrific! I'd love to see the original one day.
Maven, I thought Gifford excellent in both those films... and I enjoyed both movies which for me were quite new. It's always wonderful to discover a new classic.
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
The original German movie was Mazurka (1935), aka Mazur, aka Mazurka Tragica
The original screenplay was by Hans Rameau. It was translated to English by Julius J, Epstein and Margaret P. Levino. The original film starred Polar Negri as Vera. Hans Rameau must have been a brilliant man, being responsible for The Mortal Storm (1940), Waterloo Bridge (1940), two Oscar nominations, and Madame Curie (1943), seven Oscar nominations.
The original screenplay was by Hans Rameau. It was translated to English by Julius J, Epstein and Margaret P. Levino. The original film starred Polar Negri as Vera. Hans Rameau must have been a brilliant man, being responsible for The Mortal Storm (1940), Waterloo Bridge (1940), two Oscar nominations, and Madame Curie (1943), seven Oscar nominations.
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Rita Hayworth
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
ESCAPE FROM FORT BRAVO (1953)
Starring William Holden, Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe, William Demarest, William Campbell, and Richard Anderson and Polly Bergen.
This was a gritty western shot in splendor of gorgeous photography and great camera angles as well. I stayed up late to watch this enduring western on Encore Western and I was amazed by the photography of this movie; and the theatrical elements, and the colors really pops with all the splendor of a western should be. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and it's well acted by Holden, Parker, and supported by the two Williams and John Forsythe himself.
It was well made and this is an excellent example of an indian/cavalry caper that I see one. As I get older, I learned to appreciate Westerns more than ever and I was very surprised how well Eleanor Parker holds up in this film. She was great as Carla Forester and I was taken back by the love triangle of Holden, Parker, and Forsythe in this film.
The ending of this film was climatic with arrows raining down on them and Holden heroically defend the remains of the group that was trapped by the hissing of death that came upon them. Action Packed in all the right places and it's a wonderfully crafted western too.
Starring William Holden, Eleanor Parker, John Forsythe, William Demarest, William Campbell, and Richard Anderson and Polly Bergen.
This was a gritty western shot in splendor of gorgeous photography and great camera angles as well. I stayed up late to watch this enduring western on Encore Western and I was amazed by the photography of this movie; and the theatrical elements, and the colors really pops with all the splendor of a western should be. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and it's well acted by Holden, Parker, and supported by the two Williams and John Forsythe himself.
It was well made and this is an excellent example of an indian/cavalry caper that I see one. As I get older, I learned to appreciate Westerns more than ever and I was very surprised how well Eleanor Parker holds up in this film. She was great as Carla Forester and I was taken back by the love triangle of Holden, Parker, and Forsythe in this film.
The ending of this film was climatic with arrows raining down on them and Holden heroically defend the remains of the group that was trapped by the hissing of death that came upon them. Action Packed in all the right places and it's a wonderfully crafted western too.
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
This ‘either / or’ situation of a woman choosing to stay home or go out into the workforce ranges from the serious to the comedic in classic films. Mildred Pierce has no choice but to hold down a job and the homefront when her husband leaves her. ( ...Mildred has a whole ‘nother set of problems named Veda. )
No pie for Veda!
While Gene Kelly gleefully proclaims “GOTTA DANCE!!!” clicks his heels and shines his pearly whites without a care in the world, Moira Shearer’s character’s ‘gotta dance’ means life or death.
If that dream is too tight for you, perhaps I can show you something in a size 5.
For wife and mother Doris Day in “The Thrill of It All” taking a job as a tv spokesperson wreaks all sorts of madcap havoc and mayhem in her house.
What are you kicking about Doris? What's his is yours and what's yours is yours...
And let me not leave out Hepburn’s Tess Harding in “Woman of the Year” who’s ultimately faced with a false choice, seeing as her husband is amenable to her being a wife AND correspondent.
Quit trying so hard Tess. Straighten your seams and order take out!
But it was while I had on “HIS GIRL FRIDAY” during TCM’s Cary Grant day, that I was really struck by the cacaphonous moment of Hildy’s choice. It entered my consciousness clanging like a fire engine bell. It presented Hildy’s dilemma in a most extreme way.
Eenie meenie, miney, helloooo....
As Hildy ( Rosalind Russell ) feverishly types the story of the capture of escaped convict Earl Williams, she’s being pulled apart by the two halves of her life: Bruce ( Ralph Bellamy ) = Home & Hearth and Walter ( Cary Grant ) = Professional Career. Both men love her ( in their own way ) and Hollywood being Hollywood shows the stark contrast between the two men. As she’s besieged by both men arguing their case, Hildy must choose. No more stalling or delay. Which half will make her whole. The crescendo of the scene is handled masterfully by the three pros ( ...and kudoes to Howard Hawks. ) The choice is not hidden behind the little voice in a guilt-ridden’s woman’s head. It’s an outside voice, yelling and screaming and talking over other voices fighting to be chosen. And Hildy finally chooses.
“If you want me Bruce you gotta take me as I am instead of changing me into something else. I’m no suburban bridge player. I’m a newspaper man.”
Alright Hildy. Choose or get off the pot.
When push comes to shove, she chooses the cut-throat world of unscrupulous gypsies. She’s a reporter. Newspaper ink flows through her veins. I’m not saying I didn’t notice this or know this before. But I was really struck by it this time. Yeah, it’s mixed up there with Walter somewhere. It may be the only way she can communicate with him. Ha, it may be the only way she can communicate. Out of left field, my thoughts daisy chained from Russell to Herbert Marshall in “Trouble in Paradise.”
His situation is kind of sort of somewhat similar. He, too, must choose between two ways of life: guaranteed Stability or devil-may-care- Adventure. He’s a jewel thief going after big game: Kay Francis. He becomes enamored of her, flirts with the idea of being in love with her, falls into her lifestyle of the rich. But he’s also in a relationship with fellow traveler, Miriam Hopkins. ( They meet cute in a thiefly sort of way. ) Push comes to shove for him too and he has to choose between the stability and wealth of Francis and the exhilaration of the game with Hopkins. He gets down to brass tacks. He is a jewel thief at heart. Down to his core.
Again, I was struck by the driving, anarchical force of “His Girl Friday” especially since I was mostly listening to it ( horrors!
) than watching it; Hildy wouldn’t leave that world until she couldn’t leave that world. Yeah, I keep grousing about choice...about women having a choice. And I am being unfair when I want these gals to choose what I want them to choose. ( No bueno. ) Rosalind Russell, like Herbert Marshall...and Doris Day need to share their life with someone with their same world view. Choice.
Made for each other.
But am I wrong or am I wrong about “The Arnelo Affair.”
Yes George Murphy should not have been so self-absorbed with his job as lawyer and pay more attention to his wife. And no doubt, John Hodiak’s clearly more exciting than Murphy. But don’t you think if Frances Gifford had gone back to work as an Interior Decorator, she would have been busy, not have so much time on her hands to be so lonely for Murphy and not tempted to have an affair with Hodiak? I have my tongue halfway-in-cheek. The real bonus? To wear over-the-top clothes like career girl Eve Arden does in the film.
No pie for Veda!
While Gene Kelly gleefully proclaims “GOTTA DANCE!!!” clicks his heels and shines his pearly whites without a care in the world, Moira Shearer’s character’s ‘gotta dance’ means life or death.
If that dream is too tight for you, perhaps I can show you something in a size 5.
For wife and mother Doris Day in “The Thrill of It All” taking a job as a tv spokesperson wreaks all sorts of madcap havoc and mayhem in her house.
What are you kicking about Doris? What's his is yours and what's yours is yours...
And let me not leave out Hepburn’s Tess Harding in “Woman of the Year” who’s ultimately faced with a false choice, seeing as her husband is amenable to her being a wife AND correspondent.
Quit trying so hard Tess. Straighten your seams and order take out!
But it was while I had on “HIS GIRL FRIDAY” during TCM’s Cary Grant day, that I was really struck by the cacaphonous moment of Hildy’s choice. It entered my consciousness clanging like a fire engine bell. It presented Hildy’s dilemma in a most extreme way.
Eenie meenie, miney, helloooo....
As Hildy ( Rosalind Russell ) feverishly types the story of the capture of escaped convict Earl Williams, she’s being pulled apart by the two halves of her life: Bruce ( Ralph Bellamy ) = Home & Hearth and Walter ( Cary Grant ) = Professional Career. Both men love her ( in their own way ) and Hollywood being Hollywood shows the stark contrast between the two men. As she’s besieged by both men arguing their case, Hildy must choose. No more stalling or delay. Which half will make her whole. The crescendo of the scene is handled masterfully by the three pros ( ...and kudoes to Howard Hawks. ) The choice is not hidden behind the little voice in a guilt-ridden’s woman’s head. It’s an outside voice, yelling and screaming and talking over other voices fighting to be chosen. And Hildy finally chooses.
“If you want me Bruce you gotta take me as I am instead of changing me into something else. I’m no suburban bridge player. I’m a newspaper man.”
Alright Hildy. Choose or get off the pot.
When push comes to shove, she chooses the cut-throat world of unscrupulous gypsies. She’s a reporter. Newspaper ink flows through her veins. I’m not saying I didn’t notice this or know this before. But I was really struck by it this time. Yeah, it’s mixed up there with Walter somewhere. It may be the only way she can communicate with him. Ha, it may be the only way she can communicate. Out of left field, my thoughts daisy chained from Russell to Herbert Marshall in “Trouble in Paradise.”
His situation is kind of sort of somewhat similar. He, too, must choose between two ways of life: guaranteed Stability or devil-may-care- Adventure. He’s a jewel thief going after big game: Kay Francis. He becomes enamored of her, flirts with the idea of being in love with her, falls into her lifestyle of the rich. But he’s also in a relationship with fellow traveler, Miriam Hopkins. ( They meet cute in a thiefly sort of way. ) Push comes to shove for him too and he has to choose between the stability and wealth of Francis and the exhilaration of the game with Hopkins. He gets down to brass tacks. He is a jewel thief at heart. Down to his core.
Again, I was struck by the driving, anarchical force of “His Girl Friday” especially since I was mostly listening to it ( horrors!
) than watching it; Hildy wouldn’t leave that world until she couldn’t leave that world. Yeah, I keep grousing about choice...about women having a choice. And I am being unfair when I want these gals to choose what I want them to choose. ( No bueno. ) Rosalind Russell, like Herbert Marshall...and Doris Day need to share their life with someone with their same world view. Choice. Made for each other.
But am I wrong or am I wrong about “The Arnelo Affair.”
Yes George Murphy should not have been so self-absorbed with his job as lawyer and pay more attention to his wife. And no doubt, John Hodiak’s clearly more exciting than Murphy. But don’t you think if Frances Gifford had gone back to work as an Interior Decorator, she would have been busy, not have so much time on her hands to be so lonely for Murphy and not tempted to have an affair with Hodiak? I have my tongue halfway-in-cheek. The real bonus? To wear over-the-top clothes like career girl Eve Arden does in the film.
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
OMG, Maven! This is true food for thought. I have often thought about these very subjects in regards to classic film... but you tied this all together in a really thoughtful way... and OMG! To compare Hildy to Herbert Marshall in Trouble in Paradise? C'est BRILLIANT, une idee genie! I am pleased with the open-endedness of your post...you aren't forcing your opinion on anyone, just questioning. I think that there are many heroines in classic film who would have benefited from having the CHOICE to earn their own living.... Madame Bovary. Craig's Wife. Even Veda herself. You can't squeeze a square peg into a round hole, and you can't take a newsman and marry her off to a CPA or insurance salesman and expect her to be happy. You can't expect a bright woman who is used to the chase to sit around all day thinking up ways to please her husband.... or planning inventive housework techniques. Well, maybe you can, but it's an uncomfortable fit, at least for me.
Maybe this post hits me right because I have been without an outside job for so long, or because I concentrated on relationships for most of my life to make me happy and I miss something to work my mind. I long to have had a career I could love rather than just jobs. You hit the nail on the head as to why HGF resonates with me so much. You've made me wonder if Hildy chooses Walter himself, or if she chooses her career and Walter simply goes along with the package? Certainly she's not going to be happy with Mother (who is clearly the boss in the family anyway...Hildy will be the third wheel in that set of relationships).
One thing Walter does have going for him is that he knows how much her job means to her.... LIke Cathy in Wuthering Heights, Hildy IS Walter... er... I mean HIldy IS her job. It's a deep part of her, giving her satisfaction where men ( and all else) fail her. When Barbara Stanwyck tells Henry Fonda that a woman's office is a moonlit deck, it makes me wonder what a woman has to do to keep her husband after the marriage? Can you stay on that moonlit deck forever? The Lady Eve actually tells us NO. Why can't a woman be more like a man, in the words of Alan Jay Lerner? Why can't they have a fulfilling career outside of 'relationships'?
You've really struck a chord with me on this post. So well written, and I love the captions. It also makes me realize how much there is still to mine, even in classic films I've seen a hundred times or more.
Maybe this post hits me right because I have been without an outside job for so long, or because I concentrated on relationships for most of my life to make me happy and I miss something to work my mind. I long to have had a career I could love rather than just jobs. You hit the nail on the head as to why HGF resonates with me so much. You've made me wonder if Hildy chooses Walter himself, or if she chooses her career and Walter simply goes along with the package? Certainly she's not going to be happy with Mother (who is clearly the boss in the family anyway...Hildy will be the third wheel in that set of relationships).
One thing Walter does have going for him is that he knows how much her job means to her.... LIke Cathy in Wuthering Heights, Hildy IS Walter... er... I mean HIldy IS her job. It's a deep part of her, giving her satisfaction where men ( and all else) fail her. When Barbara Stanwyck tells Henry Fonda that a woman's office is a moonlit deck, it makes me wonder what a woman has to do to keep her husband after the marriage? Can you stay on that moonlit deck forever? The Lady Eve actually tells us NO. Why can't a woman be more like a man, in the words of Alan Jay Lerner? Why can't they have a fulfilling career outside of 'relationships'?
You've really struck a chord with me on this post. So well written, and I love the captions. It also makes me realize how much there is still to mine, even in classic films I've seen a hundred times or more.
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moira finnie
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
As part of the All Ernie Borgnine Day on SUTS on TCM yesterday, I was glad to see Pay or Die (1960) being shown after considerable time on the shelf. Based largely in historical fact centering on the extortion and murders conducted by gangs in the early years of the 20th century in NYC, Borgnine had one of his best opportunities to play a real life, quite heroic person, New York Police Lt. Joseph Petrosino, whose immigrant background and sharp detective skills enabled him to infiltrate the gangs and alert the public and the Congress about Mafioso who were emigrating to this country on false papers to perpetuate their crimes while eluding justice. Interestingly, this was not the first time that Lt. Petrosino had been depicted on film. A silent, The Adventures of Lt. Petrosino, made in 1912, also attempted to tell his story, as did the Gene Kelly movie, The Black Hand (1950), which featured an excellent, restrained performance by J. Carrol Naish as the police lieutenant. However, this film is by far the best of the biopics devoted to this individual, thanks in no small part to Borgnine.
Below: The real life Lt. Joseph Petrosino and Ernest Borgnine in a more expressive portrayal of this individual:
If you're interested in a much longer review of this movie, you can see it at the link below. I hope that others had a chance to see this rarely broadcast film and will share your opinion of it here.:
http://moirasthread.blogspot.com/2014/0 ... -1960.html
Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
I forgot I watched the stirring, dramatic BACK TO BATAAN last week. I meant to comment on this fine, well executed WW2 tale by the talented, if hard to spell, Edward Dmytryk. I've admired this unpretentious classic since I was ten years old. At that age, I saw it as "A John Wayne Movie!" It is that. But it's also a serious, disturbing, minimally judgmental war story. Yes, the enemy commits atrocities. But at no time is it suggested that the Japanese are inhuman.
The focus is on the resistance. The people of the Philippines, an undercover agent, and the rag-tag band of U.S. soldiers dispatched to rescue American POWs. The film begins and ends with footage of some of the actual men who endured this horror. I know of few moments in movies that can match this one for authentic effect. In addition to Mr. Wayne's understated performance, there's Anthony Quinn as an embittered lover, young Ducky Louie as a brave Filpipino patriot, and the wonderful Beulah Bondi as a school teacher who's not about to take orders from anyone. Not even Big John Wayne!
The story is exciting. The conflicts are dramatic. The stakes are pivotal to the future of the world. This is one of the best war dramas to come out of the era.
The focus is on the resistance. The people of the Philippines, an undercover agent, and the rag-tag band of U.S. soldiers dispatched to rescue American POWs. The film begins and ends with footage of some of the actual men who endured this horror. I know of few moments in movies that can match this one for authentic effect. In addition to Mr. Wayne's understated performance, there's Anthony Quinn as an embittered lover, young Ducky Louie as a brave Filpipino patriot, and the wonderful Beulah Bondi as a school teacher who's not about to take orders from anyone. Not even Big John Wayne!
The story is exciting. The conflicts are dramatic. The stakes are pivotal to the future of the world. This is one of the best war dramas to come out of the era.
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moira finnie
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
I can never watch the scene with Vladimir Sokoloff refusing to haul down the flag without getting choked up.RedRiver wrote:I forgot I watched the stirring, dramatic BACK TO BATAAN last week. I meant to comment on this fine, well executed WW2 tale by the talented, if hard to spell, Edward Dmytryk. I've admired this unpretentious classic since I was ten years old. At that age, I saw it as "A John Wayne Movie!" It is that. But it's also a serious, disturbing, minimally judgmental war story. Yes, the enemy commits atrocities. But at no time is it suggested that the Japanese are inhuman.
The focus is on the resistance. The people of the Philippines, an undercover agent, and the rag-tag band of U.S. soldiers dispatched to rescue American POWs. The film begins and ends with footage of some of the actual men who endured this horror. I know of few moments in movies that can match this one for authentic effect. In addition to Mr. Wayne's understated performance, there's Anthony Quinn as an embittered lover, young Ducky Louie as a brave Filpipino patriot, and the wonderful Beulah Bondi as a school teacher who's not about to take orders from anyone. Not even Big John Wayne!
The story is exciting. The conflicts are dramatic. The stakes are pivotal to the future of the world. This is one of the best war dramas to come out of the era.
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Oh darn it! I missed Pay or Die! Now I wish I'd seen it. Maybe in another 7 years it will be on again...
Back to Bataan is one of the few war movies I can actually sit through. Maybe it's because I am a big fan of Anthony Quinn or maybe it's that it portrays others besides Americans with something at stake in the war.
Back to Bataan is one of the few war movies I can actually sit through. Maybe it's because I am a big fan of Anthony Quinn or maybe it's that it portrays others besides Americans with something at stake in the war.
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moira finnie
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Speaking of Anthony Quinn, did anyone see The Happening (1967) last week on Faye Dunaway's SUTS day? Holy moley, what a mess--but guess who is the best thing in it?
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
I didn't see it this time, but I watched it once before... yeah, it was a mess alright, but Quinn somehow rose above it. At the end when he walks away, it was like those messed up kids were asking Quinn to come back and give them some acting lessons....
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Vecchiolarry
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
Hi David,
I saw "The Hundred Foot Journey" last weekend and thought it was great & wonderful, as you did also. Everybody in it was so real and so vivid.
I just wonder if the Ninja Turtles would have been put into a turtle soup by Helen???!!!!
Larry
I saw "The Hundred Foot Journey" last weekend and thought it was great & wonderful, as you did also. Everybody in it was so real and so vivid.
I just wonder if the Ninja Turtles would have been put into a turtle soup by Helen???!!!!
Larry
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JackFavell
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Re: WHAT FILMS HAVE YOU SEEN LATELY?
We saw The Hundred Foot Journey last weekend as well. My admiration for Lasse Hallstrom as a director continues. He creates vivid, beautiful milieux and painfully human characters in all his movies and this was no exception. I was just the teeniest bit disappointed in the script, it hammered home central ideas which didn't need to be restated....it was all perfectly clear without words. I also felt that the through line was muddied up a little too much, with the film taking too long to get where it was going...but these are quite small criticisms. This doesn't in any way detract from the pleasure of watching the film! I always want to watch Hallstrom's movies, because they provide so much emotion and beauty...he's one of my favorite directors. But dang it, sometimes I get so irritated with him.
I like Hallstrom's meandering style very, very much. His movies flow so exquisitely, like water. He balances comedy and drama in an unusual way. I find it appealing and also maddening. Hallstrom reminds me of Gregory LaCava with a little Nick Ray thrown in for good measure. LaCava is the more spontaneous, but Hallstrom is more interior, which adds feeling. Both Hallstrom and LaCava have a way of making the journey the focus rather than the end point.
I suggest Nick Ray as a comparison because there is a spiritual component in both director's works. Hallstrom is sometimes frustrating in his inability to get onto the screen the entire depth that one wants from his films. Both he and Ray have made heartbreakingly beautiful films about youth. Both tell sensitive stories in which death, love, and the struggle to ignore other people's opinions are at the core. Both have shown innocent main characters who are used by others, until they too become hardened by the world. I wanted very much to see that hand of the mother in the way the actions played out in this film...not just as a box of herbs and spices pulled from the shelf at the end. I am probably being too picky. Not many directors can produce even one film that shows the influence of the dead on the living...and Hallstrom has produced several. I just wish that he would make another film that unleashes the power I know he is capable of. I think he shies away from it, adding the comedy as a salve to the bitterness of life. LaCava did it too... and what the heck, it isn't a bad way to go. I guess not everything has to be one way or another.
I like Hallstrom's meandering style very, very much. His movies flow so exquisitely, like water. He balances comedy and drama in an unusual way. I find it appealing and also maddening. Hallstrom reminds me of Gregory LaCava with a little Nick Ray thrown in for good measure. LaCava is the more spontaneous, but Hallstrom is more interior, which adds feeling. Both Hallstrom and LaCava have a way of making the journey the focus rather than the end point.
I suggest Nick Ray as a comparison because there is a spiritual component in both director's works. Hallstrom is sometimes frustrating in his inability to get onto the screen the entire depth that one wants from his films. Both he and Ray have made heartbreakingly beautiful films about youth. Both tell sensitive stories in which death, love, and the struggle to ignore other people's opinions are at the core. Both have shown innocent main characters who are used by others, until they too become hardened by the world. I wanted very much to see that hand of the mother in the way the actions played out in this film...not just as a box of herbs and spices pulled from the shelf at the end. I am probably being too picky. Not many directors can produce even one film that shows the influence of the dead on the living...and Hallstrom has produced several. I just wish that he would make another film that unleashes the power I know he is capable of. I think he shies away from it, adding the comedy as a salve to the bitterness of life. LaCava did it too... and what the heck, it isn't a bad way to go. I guess not everything has to be one way or another.