Annette Bening, an actress that is usually so luminous, seems utterly lost in the central role of Nikki, a widow who meets a man named Tom (Ed Harris) five year’s after her husband Garrett (also played by Ed Harris) has died. Yes, Tom looks exactly like her ex-husband so, naturally, she is drawn to him. Director and co-writer Arie Posin has an interesting opportunity here, but he blows it. He can’t seem to decide if his movie is just a sad meditation on lost love and one’s ability to move on, or a really warped
Twilight Zone episode. The movie feels like it was made for dummies in the end, playing it safe and spoiling any shot at ingenuity. The film is all over the map tonally, shifting from delusional fantasy to pathetic reality. What Posin tries to get us to swallow in the end is a shoddy premise with an aloof and often flat delivery. It’s a shame because there’s a wealth of talent involved in this movie. The simply don’t have a definitive place to go.
By
Bob Grimm