thanks for the article :)

My fav thread on the IMDb.com's forum for this film:

"Who the hell is Pippa Lee????? never heard of her
....is this a part 2 or a spin off movie from a TV soap?? The plot synopsis makes it sounds like we're suppose to know who Pippa Lee is, geesh"
:-)

It's so great! I love stories where people find themselves, and this movie has the ultimate happy ending. "I'm awake!" - oh my god, how wonderful was that? For a couple of minutes I was upset that Pippa wouldn't leave with Chris, because it looked like she'd stay, during that scene of her leaving the hospital, under the rain, but she did leave with him, ahhh! Seriously, I love happy endings, they make me happy.

PS I can't resist saying that I totally approve of Chris' praying methods, ehehe ;)))))

I also found a quite good interpretation of the van scene on IMDb.com's forum, I copy it here (written by tnesla):

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It started as a prayer and then turned into something else, obviously. I take it Keanu's character didn't simply act on his desire (notice he didn't make any further moves to have sex with her), but he realized that Pippa needed to feel overwhelmed in a way different than she's used to. Not by confusion, alienation, anxiety or guilt which seemed to have overwhelmed her throughout her whole life (because she always felt somewhat responsible to cater to other people's needs, may it be her mom, her husband or even her husband's lover), but by simple bodily pleasure which can be, well quite therapeutic. It wasn't only a sexual relief, but she also let go emotionally. Thus we jump to the next scene in which she made amends with her husband in coma and said goodbye to a part of her life.

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...my other favourite part is when Pippa is intruding to Chris' room through the window and she wakes him up, telling him about his husband cheating her, etc. I can watch this part hundred times without being bored :-) It is intimate, funny, serious & romantic at the same time.

I loved every scene with Pippa and Chris, they were just so funny :)

- You're right. You know, you are an asshole.
- Told you.

Come to think of it, Robin's scenes with everyone were funny.

Wait a minute.

IS THIS A COMEDY? O_O

I mean, it's not a drama enough, and all Robin's interactions with other people have humor in them, it's like a very subtle Coen brothers film.

Uploaded with [URL=http://imageshack.us]ImageShack.us[/URL]

:D

Keanu was terrific. He and Robin had great chemistry, and he brought a presence that was emotionally dark, comforting, bitter, funny, and loving all at the same time - yet another totally new turn from what I've seen him do before. I suspect Chris is not so much an a-hole as he is brutally honest, which can be hard for people to deal with, and he's hurt by the fact that the world refuses to be honest with him. It was interesting to see he was almost ashamed of this quality when Pippa pointed it out, as though he's keenly aware it puts him at an emotional disadvantage with the rest of the world. A guy like that would have held absolutely no interest for Pippa were she not finally ready to be honest with herself.

What I loved, in no particular order (yeah, most of it relates to Chris):

- Chris's comment that "I was just as pissed off with the world as when I was a Christian." Powerful stuff, reflecting on both the presence and lack of belief in God and the difference it does or doesn't make.

- "There's something I have to do" = climbing out the window. What a fabulous character introduction.

- When a woman finds out her husband is cheating, Chris and ice cream make everything better. :)

- The way Chris just accepts Pippa climbing through the window into his bed, without even too much surprise.

- The "Oh hell yes" look on her face right before she pulls him in for another kiss.

- I found it refreshing that Chris doesn't make move one on Pippa until she tells him her marriage is done. Even after that, he makes himself available but doesn't push her. E.g., the scene on the porch where (I felt) he was dying to kiss her again and didn't, or when he waits outside the hospital.

- The way Chris, with a single word and no judgment, calls Pippa on her BS about the smoking.

- The way Pippa bows her head and looks away from Chris after judging him for not having a profession, as though she's finally hearing how wrong and hypocritical it is to apply her ideas of life to someone else's.

- The "praying" scene, and not for the obvious reason. ;) It was Pippa's crying and Chris's response to it that really struck me. That's some of the most intimate work I've seen in any movie. He brings her to a place of total emotional vulnerability and trust and she apologizes for her tears, fearing he'll respond the way her husband does - by pushing her away and/or making it all about him. Instead, he takes her face in his hands and looks at her, reassuring her that he sees and accepts her the way she is, messy emotions and all. What a gorgeous moment.

- Pippa's wish for that "one more afternoon" with her mother that will never come and her reimagining her real mother into the one she needed, who'd have tea with her and talk about her beautiful grandchildren.

- The shot of Winona Ryder curled up catatonic on the couch. It provided a nice bit of prophetic fulfillment to Monica Bellucci's observation that Herb would keep seeking women who were easier and easier to dominate until he would up with an imbecile.

- Pippa stroking her daughter's hair in bed. No matter how old they get, all we want is for our kids to feel safe and loved - and sometimes we revert to the outgrown ways of providing that comfort.

What I didn't love:

- Pippa's astounding lack of awareness, both at the role her own poor choices played in her current situation and of her diminishing feelings for her husband. She hooked up with a married guy and was offended when he later did to her what he first did with her. And she did not "adore him this morning" when that afternoon she was making out with someone else. (I don't judge her for that, btw, just for her inability to notice what was happening between her and Chris before he kissed her.)

- Pippa's observation that her real self disappeared once and for all when her kids were born. That's a tired trope that seems to blame the kids for having been born.

- The histrionics* between young Pippa and her mother. Poor Blake Lively was resoundingly outmatched in that scene by Maria Bello, who managed at least some degree of credibility.

- The fetish photo scenes, because I don't get their relevance to Pippa's present-day story. In general I thought the movie didn't do a great job at tying things together and showing how Pippa's past experiences and choices made her what she is, or what the catalyst was for this sudden wellspring of honesty.

- The too-easy resolution between Pippa and her daughter. A conveniently-timed crisis of conscience doesn't erase years of damage.

- The sleepwalking metaphor was maybe a little heavy-handed. Although what a sweet moment when Pippa looks up at Chris and says "I'm awake."

*There aren't very many actors I feel can do this convincingly. Most of the time it just reads as showoff overacting to me. I find screaming, shouting, freaking out, etc. require a lot of emotional focus to pull off, and as it happens I tend to find those things most believable when Keanu does them. A great example of this is the final scene with Forest Whitaker and Keanu in Street Kings. One was Acting and one was being - the latter with considerably more authenticity.

I'm still puzzling over the evolution of Keanu's looks. His eyes absolutely dominated every scene he was in. They looked bigger and darker than I can ever recall seeing them before, which was very cool and a little intimidating. His Asian ethnicity** seemed more prominent too, although I can't pin down how or why.

**If my Caucasian-based ignorance offends anyone of other ethnicities, please let me know and I'll immediately apologize and edit my post.

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His Asian ethnicity**

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I wonder if you mean Keanu's

a) Hawaiian father or
b) English mother? :-)

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Caucasian based ignorance? Where did you come from?

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Yay, you're back.

I'm white. Being white, I don't have to think about how to describe myself and I often don't know the right way to phrase things - hell, even the right way to think - when it comes to describing someone else's racial/ethnic heritage. You're welcome to tell me I'm ignorant and point out what I should fix. But if you just came to drop some insults and leave, like you did in the other thread, you're wasting my time.

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I wonder if you mean Keanu's

a) Hawaiian father or
b) English mother? :-)

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Okay, serious request:

Please enlighten me. Did I use the wrong word or phrase? Is it incorrect or offensive to mention "Asian" in reference to someone of mixed ethnicity (which I know he is)? I wasn't trying at all to insult or demean his looks, ethnic heritage, or anything else. To me, he's handsome as hell and always has been.

Again, if I offended anyone, I apologize.

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I have a feeling you are not Caucasian, Jack.

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Please. I'm so white that according to the Pantone color wheel, I don't technically exist.

Well done. The hat trick of demagoguery, right there.

@allhailkingjack - there was nothing offensive in your post, and it was phrased accurately; AFAIK referring to someone's X ethnicity doesn't mean it's their only ethnicity, though I might be wrong there.

@Bliss - got your request, will work on it once I figure out what's wrong with the system.