An American woman (Michelle Williams) running an orphanage in Calcutta is overjoyed to learn that a self-made New York tech billionaire wants to donate two million dollars to her noble and very rewarding work. But she’ll be required to travel to the Big Apple to finalize the deal. Once there, the CEO (Julianne Moore) wants to study the statistics a bit more, but would her visitor like to come to her daughter’s wedding this weekend?
Arriving late to the ceremony, she is understandably shocked to find that her benefactor’s husband (Billy Crudup) is an old flame. Telling you more would constitute spoilers, but gradually her benefactor’s true motives are revealed.
Bart Freundlich’s gender-swapped remake of a 2006 film of the same name by Danish writer/director Suzanne Bier has not been as well received as the original, mostly due to its jarring tonal shifts. Initially, its intriguing setup and intricate plot development had me riveted, until it began to unravel and fly perhaps to closely to sentimental melodrama and one downright mawkish scene. So call it melodramatic schlock, but, you know, good melodramatic schlock.
But I’d still recommend it for the acting. Moore of course never disappoints, but it is Williams who seems to be emerging as one of our best actors these days. She seems to be able to convey more emotion and meaning with body language or a mere glance than most of her contemporaries can with a full script. It’s quite a thing to see. (112 min)
