Review by danreed80

Emma Thompson is truly one of the very finest actors working today; she doesn't so much play a character as she becomes the character. Watching her is a master class in how to portray every nuance of the character in a natural yet captivating way that makes you hang on her every word, every look and every gesture. I felt for the woman she portrayed; in fact I felt like I knew the woman she portrayed like an old friend by the end of the movie. Very few, if any, actors succeed in fleshing out fictional characters and making you forget that you're watching make believe like she does. Outside of her delightful presence, the movie was just ok; it would probably have been better had they made it 45min-1hr long, which would have avoided the parts where it dragged on and the pace fell; some scenes felt like they belonged to a play rather than a movie. Daryl Mccormack did a pretty decent job himself and held his own against Thompson, which is high praise indeed. Having said that, this was an Emma Thompson vehicle and I seriously doubt I would've sat through the whole thing had her role been played by any other actress, with the exception of very few.