John Sayles along with David Mamet is my favorite screenwriter. Sayles unlike Mamet is a great director as well. This film is an exploration of family, morality, love, and survival. The preview is no good so just trust me and watch the film. The writing is outstanding. There are parts of the film that contain the reading from a diary, and the prose there is beautiful. It is more than that it is exquisite. The acting is first rate. David Sraitharn a long time Sayles actor gives a an excellent performance as Jumping Joe Gastineau a Jack of All trades guy looking for some love to fill the empty whole in his life. Mary Elziabeth Mastriantonio who has been cut out of Hollywood now that she is over 35 is also very good. She plays the Nomadic musician with child in tow. She is just trying to put a life together and raise her child the best way she can. The Characthers are real and the situations they are put in are interesting ones. We get to find out about who these people are and what they are made of. They are thrown together by chance and choice. The young actress playing the daughter does fantastic job and I hope she continues to act although I haven't sene her again since. The film is aptly name because Limbo is what the characters are in, and it is also what you the viewer will be in. I love these kinds of movies. I like to watch an interesting story with fascinating characters. If you don't know who John Sayles is then watch this movie and start watching his other films Lonestar, Men with Guns, Passion Fish, Eight Men Out, and of course Brother from another planet.
