I was hoping to give a 7 or an 8 to this movie, because of the sensitivity and caring that it embodied and illustrated. The acting was good from the entire cast. Everything was going along fine until David's daughter, Rachael, changed her mind and decided to go live with her aunt and uncle. That was an extremely cruel, unexplained and unwarranted twist in the plot that came with no warning.
If the producer of this movie wanted to play that black card at the end of the movie, they needed to supply some context...Some reasons why. We see no real reason for the young woman to make this decision: Leaving her dad all alone at a time when he needed her the most. Indeed, she should have known that her leaving could bring on another suicide attempt by her father.
Her going to go live with that "bee with an itch on the end" was unacceptable to me, and ruined a perfectly good movie and one that could have been great. The young lady should have fought for her dad tooth-and-nail. She should have believed him that he does indeed commune with the spirit of her mother.
The scene that re-inforces the absurdity of the final decision by Rachael is when Wendy Crewson's and Kathy Baker's characters are on the beach one night and The former defends David's behavior and opposes the latter's intrusiveness:
Kevin: Imagine him losing his daughter for taking long walks on the beach.
Esther: It's not just that.
Kevin: Then what is it? Is there something else you're not telling me?
Esther: No
Kevin: Then I don't see his crime.
I have a philosophical objection to the movie, as well: Nowhere in To Gillian is it even suggested or hinted that there is a possibility that David might be perfectly sane and that spirits of loved ones are sometimes able to communicate with us. When his daughter selfishly drop-kicked him like that with no warning or reason (while she was hung-over), I just wonder what could have been.
The movie could have had a great ending with the daughter urging her dad to allow her to go along with him on his beach walks so that the mother's spirit could come through to her, too. The daughter should have fought with the aunt.., physically, and thrown her out of their home. Instead, we get a very black and disturbing ending to a movie that had so much potential.
If the producer of this movie wanted to play that black card at the end of the movie, they needed to supply some context...Some reasons why. We see no real reason for the young woman to make this decision: Leaving her dad all alone at a time when he needed her the most. Indeed, she should have known that her leaving could bring on another suicide attempt by her father.
Her going to go live with that "bee with an itch on the end" was unacceptable to me, and ruined a perfectly good movie and one that could have been great. The young lady should have fought for her dad tooth-and-nail. She should have believed him that he does indeed commune with the spirit of her mother.
The scene that re-inforces the absurdity of the final decision by Rachael is when Wendy Crewson's and Kathy Baker's characters are on the beach one night and The former defends David's behavior and opposes the latter's intrusiveness:
Kevin: Imagine him losing his daughter for taking long walks on the beach.
Esther: It's not just that.
Kevin: Then what is it? Is there something else you're not telling me?
Esther: No
Kevin: Then I don't see his crime.
I have a philosophical objection to the movie, as well: Nowhere in To Gillian is it even suggested or hinted that there is a possibility that David might be perfectly sane and that spirits of loved ones are sometimes able to communicate with us. When his daughter selfishly drop-kicked him like that with no warning or reason (while she was hung-over), I just wonder what could have been.
The movie could have had a great ending with the daughter urging her dad to allow her to go along with him on his beach walks so that the mother's spirit could come through to her, too. The daughter should have fought with the aunt.., physically, and thrown her out of their home. Instead, we get a very black and disturbing ending to a movie that had so much potential.