Review of Mute Witness (1995) by Jennifer O — 29 Feb 2004

I'm only feeling sad because I just finished watching [b]My Life Without Me.[/b].

[b]The Missing[/b]--God, this could have been a great movie. Cate Blanchett is fantastic, as always. Tommy Lee Jones is always a pleasure to watch as well. What I disliked about this movie is the witch doctor mumbo jumbo bullshit which was really just unnecessary. If the villain had been just a straight up bad guy, with no mystical powers, this movie would have been much more effective. I still like it, but it's sad to think of what it could have been. The last scene with Blanchett and Jones just tore me up inside. That's probably why it earned a solid 7, instead of a 6.

[b]Pieces of April[/b]--it was an okay movie, nothing special. The beginning was really just unbelievable. The search for a stove, the wacky neighbors, the frantic last minute preparations and disasters; these ideas are all contrived, but Patricia Clarkson's performance brought this movie up a great deal. I loved her dark humor, her imperfections, her bitterness at death'a approach. I just thought she was very believable. My favorite scenes were the last, where She goes in and we just see pictures of the reunion. I liked that there were no words said. It made the scene much more powerful.

[b]My Life Without Me[/b]--Just tore me up inside. Yeah, I'm still bleeding. Loved it in spite of how depressing it is.

Mute Witness--still great IMO. Too bad I couldn't feel the same terror and suspense I felt when I first saw this.