First, I enjoyed the movie. The story was more than interesting, had plenty of dramatic elements, convincing performances, and a rich visual presentation.
Second, this is one of those rare movies, like BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, where I kept feeling the better story was slightly out of reach. I don't know why that is. It could be me, it could be somebody was locked into the screenplay and couldn't make changes, or it could be the writer was just going in a different direction and I didn't want to follow.
We started off OK. The father was in both disbelief and denial. His wife terribly confused to find herself in her daughter's body. The father slowly comes around as the evidence mounts. This is where I come off the tracks. I would have written the rebirth of the husband/wife relationship and built on the obvious problems that would entail. The father keeps seeing his daughter every time he looks at his wife, the wife's friends become suspicious, people begin looking at the father oddly because of his apparent strange relationship with his daughter. Adding a sexual element here would have been unnerving and highly dramatic. Not a popular decision but I would have done it anyway. Then I would have introduced the daughter back into the equation with the wife becoming aware of her daughter's presence, slowly but increasingly aware, and at that point the husband/wife become distant from each other as their confusion mounts over not understanding what's happening. I would have ended the movie the same way, with the daughter returning. I would have, however, offered a few more scenes of spiritual explanation, possibly because I am not spiritual at all and I would feel the need to offer some reason for what has happened.
Like I said before, it's really unusual for me to react to a story this way, but every so often I sense a better story and simply yearn for it.
I am in no way criticizing this one. This is a fine story and a fine movie.
Second, this is one of those rare movies, like BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, where I kept feeling the better story was slightly out of reach. I don't know why that is. It could be me, it could be somebody was locked into the screenplay and couldn't make changes, or it could be the writer was just going in a different direction and I didn't want to follow.
We started off OK. The father was in both disbelief and denial. His wife terribly confused to find herself in her daughter's body. The father slowly comes around as the evidence mounts. This is where I come off the tracks. I would have written the rebirth of the husband/wife relationship and built on the obvious problems that would entail. The father keeps seeing his daughter every time he looks at his wife, the wife's friends become suspicious, people begin looking at the father oddly because of his apparent strange relationship with his daughter. Adding a sexual element here would have been unnerving and highly dramatic. Not a popular decision but I would have done it anyway. Then I would have introduced the daughter back into the equation with the wife becoming aware of her daughter's presence, slowly but increasingly aware, and at that point the husband/wife become distant from each other as their confusion mounts over not understanding what's happening. I would have ended the movie the same way, with the daughter returning. I would have, however, offered a few more scenes of spiritual explanation, possibly because I am not spiritual at all and I would feel the need to offer some reason for what has happened.
Like I said before, it's really unusual for me to react to a story this way, but every so often I sense a better story and simply yearn for it.
I am in no way criticizing this one. This is a fine story and a fine movie.