Map of the World

Pros: Complex lead character, Strong performances by cast, Interesting symbolism,
Cons: Too many plot twists, Poor filming technique

Alice Goodwin (Sigourney Weaver) is a complex character caught between her ideal of the way life should be, and the harsher realities of the way life is. Based on the best selling novel of the same title by Jane Hamilton, A Map Of the World uses...

Pros: great acting, story pretty good
Cons: bogs down and becomes very depressing in spots, heroine not always likable or sympathetic

Small towns are quite a different existence than the cities or suburbia. There’s a certain flow associated with these places, where people move in and out on a regular basis. You might be “the new kid in town” for a time, but that ...

Pros: realism, Weaver and Moore, complexity
Cons: some parts not fully developed

I’ve been reading more fiction than usual lately, and perhaps that’s what made me crave a great, emotional drama when we were at the video store this week. I had heard that A Map of the World, based on Jane Hamilton's novel by the same name, was...

Pros: Sigourney Weaver pulls out all the stops in a gut-wrenching portrayal of a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown
Cons: Picture this: you have the Number 5 combination platter at that Chinese place, then you stumble next door to your favorite Italian restaurant and gorge yourself, then you waddle on down the street to Big Bob's Belly-Up-To-The-Trough Buffet and dig in--THAT

A Map of the World should serve as a warning to film critics like me: Be careful what you ask for…you might just get it, and then some.

In my case, I’ve regularly complained about the scripts dribbling out of Hollywood these...

Pros: Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, and the music of Pat Metheny
Cons: seemed to be misguided in either direction or screenplay

The best part of Map of the World is Pat Metheny's acoustic guitars, piano, and keyboards. The music was composed and performed by Pat Metheny. His CD to the movie is also entitled the Map of the World. This is a movie that I was...

Pros: excellent cast who played their parts well, attempts to deal with troubling material
Cons: weak direction, slow parts, holes in plot, uncomfortable subjects to tackle

What did they use to "map" this movie? The map the Blair Witch Project kids kicked into the creek? I came close to leaving in the middle of this movie, but I have only left during two movies in my whole life (the last one a stinker called...

Pros: Julianne Moore
Cons: weak writing and direction

Tragedy does not a good film make. Take Map of the World for example: bad things continually happen to the characters we are supposed to become sympathetic towards, but neglect on the part of both the filmmakers and the original author of the...

Pros: Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore are great.
Cons: The subject matter may be too unsettling for some.

A Map of the World is an example of a truly adult drama. Unlike a lot of other dramas, even good ones, which feature popular stars (and which cost more and make more money than this one), this film is very complex in its characterizations, and mature...

Pros: Great soundtrack by Pat Metheny
Cons: Overacted, poorly drawn characters, not a believable conclusion

At first glance A Map of the World would seem to have a HIT written all over it. It boast two fine and respected female leads: Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore, an up-and-coming female actress: Chloe Sevigny, and two equally talented ...

Pros: wonderful acting by Weaver and Moore
Cons: very intense subject matter

Let's face it: There's some books that translate beautifully in movies: Gone With The Wind, To Kill A Mockingbird, and M*A*S*H. But some books/movie translations aren't that great. Anyone remember James Caan in Rabbit, Runs? How about Harriet the Spy set...

Pros: Great movie, excellently cast
Cons: serious drama, heavy material not good if you're looking for something light.

Seldom does any movie touch me so deeply that I don't know what to say about it. Makes it kind of difficult to write a review I guess. I read this book a few years ago. Good book by an excellent author Jane Hamilton. And at the time I thought the...

Pros: everything
Cons: nothing

I will admit it. I tried to read the book and I just couldn't get in to it. I really wanted to read it because someone told me it was excellent. But was too slow and I just gave up. So you could say I was thrilled when I was looking around at the...

Pros: Good acting, honesty and raw emotion of the film's characters
Cons: Court room scenes were too short and don't give enough details

This is a movie about a subject that sends shivers down any parent's spine. It strikes fear in the hearts of all caregivers. It's about (in part) a child that drowns while in the care of a friend of the family.

Sigourney Weaver plays Alice...

Pros: Sigourney Weaver's intelligent, vivid performance
Cons: Fatally flawed script and unfocused direction

There's no greater tragedy than being responsible for the death of a child, and that's just the first blow Sigourney Weaver suffers at the beginning of this complex, dramatic portrait of a women in emotional agony. Then, still reeling with guilt,...

Pros: Superb acting by Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, and rest of cast.
Cons: Belongs on Lifetime, not big screen.

A Map of the World, a movie best suited for the Lifetime cable network has it's highs and lows as it follows the life of Alice Goodwin (Sigourney Weaver), a mother who’s trying to cope with raising two little daughters, her part-time job as a school...