*Possible Spoilers?*
I really wanted to like this movie because I really like P.S. Hoffman and Kathy Bates, but I just couldn't get into it. I understand that Hoffman's character (Wilson) was devastated by his wife's suicide, but he just goes so off the deep end that I wondered if perhaps he was always emotionally unstable. There seem to be hints given throughout the movie that his wife's suicide may have had something to do with him, and his mother-in-law seems to be worried about this possibility as well. But instead of finding anything out about the relationship or the reasons for the suicide, we get to watch Wilson mope around and huff gas and freak out in public. The whole time he's carrying a letter from his wife that may have the answers as to why she committed suicide, but he refuses to open it. When he does, it doesn't really answer any questions after all. The whole thing is pretty pointless; you care for the character at first and get a sense of his pain and confusion, but you don't really get much of a story. His actions also don't really make much sense, I mean why huff gas? Surely he could afford something better, even if it was only alcohol? Why does he get up and go to work when he's in mourning - why wouldn't he take some time off? Also, his friends seem pretty cheerful around him, as if they had no idea what had happened. And unless I missed it (which is possible, of course, since I found myself drifting pretty soon into the film because there are so many scenes with nothing happening), we don't even find out HOW his wife killed herself. It's just really incomplete story-wise. Anyway, avoid this movie as both Hoffman and Bates have done far better movies and you should just check them out instead.
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