Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2011

Natalie Portman portrays Emilia, a woman mired in grief over the death of her baby daughter at the age of three days. She’s also having problems relating to her young stepson, which are not being helped by the machinations of her husband’s first wife. Yes, Emilia is a home wrecker, the other woman, and is not having an easy time of it. The treat here is Lisa Kudrow’s performance as the viciously judgmental wife number one. There’s a lot of story being packed in here, perhaps too much. Both the movie and Portman are a little uneven, and the redemptive ending a little too rushed, but it worked for me.