An Unfinished Life

How Redford changed

All the actors were impressive. I thoroughly enjoyed it and continue to rewatch it. It"s a nice "feel good" movie. It's one of those movies that you can watch many times.

Great movie. It’s a fantastic cast. I’ve watched it several times.

I think An Unfinished Life is one of the few movies that both Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman have made that came on in the theaters one weekend and then disappeared two weeks later. Though a predictable movie, An Unfinished Life is still a very good film with excellent performances by Redford, Freeman, Jennifer Lopez, Josh Lucas, and Becca Gardiner.The story starts out with Lopez and her teenage daughter, Gardiner, leaving an abusive relationship with hardly any money and a broken-down car. When the car finally reaches its last leg, Lopez has no choice but to head to Wyoming and a father-in-law (played by Redford) who blames her for the death of his only son. When Lopez reaches Redford's ranch, it turns out the neither he, nor her daughter, knew of each other. The fact that he's suddenly a grandfather, however, doesn't stop Redford from telling his daughter-in-law that he doesn't want her there and to leave. Of course, there wouldn't be much of a story if that happened. Later, when Redford sees Lopez and Gardiner in town, he has a change of heart and tells them that they're welcome to stay at his place if they want. The two females move in with Redford and his long-time ranch hand and close friend (played by Freeman). Freeman's character was mauled by a grizzly bear and is now somewhat of a cripple. He stays in the small house adjacent to the main quarters. As it turns out, Freeman is also Redford's conscious. He doesn't hesitate to tell Redford that he's wrong about blaming Lopez for his son's death in a car accident and that he needs to get to know his granddaughter. Through trials and tribulations, Redford and the two females slowly start to become close to each other. As this is happening, Lopez develops a relationship with the town's sheriff (played by Josh Lucas). At first Redford feels that Lopez is being unfaithful to the memory of his son, but gradually relents due to the good nature of the sheriff. Then, during the last third of the movie, Lopez' abusive boyfriend tracks her down and is intent on having her leave with him. That's when all hell breaks lose and we find out just how tough Redford's character really is.What makes An Unfinished Life truly shine is the interaction between Redford's character and Freeman's. These two men have a strong friendship that knows no bounds. This is displayed most effectively in how Redford takes care of his crippled friend by helping him to get around, making his meals, playing cards with him, and eventually following his advice about everything. I don't think Redford and Freeman have ever been better than they are in this film. I have to say, however, that Redford really looks his age. Though this movie won't win any awards, it's still a pure pleasure to watch. It's also nice having Jennifer Lopez back after a long absence. She handles her character perfectly as someone who's filled with guilt and tortures herself for it day in and day out. The theme of this film is certainly one about our need for forgiveness and to feel whole again. That's an important message for everyone. The extras on the DVD have a director's commentary and a making-of featurette and a look at the training of Bart the Bear, who plays a large role in the movie.

Well acted, beautifully filmed, inspiring story. You can't go wrong with Morgan Freeman and Robert Redford. Oh, and Josh Lucas is pretty cute, too.

My husband loves this movie with great casts. We now own it!!!

Thx

So, on the rare occasion that the wife and I actually watch a movie, we were looking for something that might actually have some entertainment value, free of rampant violence and blatant sexuality. For the most part, this filled the bill. We were once fans of RR, never have been too much of JL. Nice to see Camrynn Manheim in there- good actor from "The Practice." And ol' Morgan Freeman.... Couldn't help but think of the connection between his role in this and "The Bucket List."Anyway, the plot was okay, sort of a fish out of water situation. Nice to see the ol' rancher realize that he could get out of his comfort zone and actually be nice to people other than his ranch mate. People can change if they find reasons enough to do so and the humility to see they are in the wrong. Actually cheered when he beat the dickens out of the abusive boyfriend. Good lesson for any abuser to have to learn. And the little girl was charming, not really well-coached as an actor, but her cuteness made up for her lack of acting skills.Loved the scenery, even if it wasn't in Wyoming, but some of the shots were too repetitive for my taste. Only so many times you can see the town from the top of the hill and you go like, "Meh?"Best line in the movie- RR confronts the abusive boyfriend at the motel room and says "I am here to help you pack" while brandishing a rifle.Not an advocate of violence whatsoever, including abuse of animals, so was glad to see some humaneness toward the grizzly. Plot line addressed violence without being graphic about it, thankfully.Mostly enjoyed, but felt it was kind of a well worn topic with some different twists. Good for feel-good but not really deep into character development.

This was a great movie because it was filmed in the Kamloops and Ashcroft areas.

Leider hat mein Mann die Verpackung verworfenIch kann sie also nicht retour schicken.

Chi non ne può più dei cowboy e della loro filosofia di vita tagliata con l'accetta, di veder estrarre la pistola continuamente come fosse normale, della violenza, del farsi giustizia da sé, del rapporto di sfida tra "l'uomo vero" e l'animale "feroce", di un linguaggio aggressivo e volgare....insomma chi è stufo della psicologia alla John Wayne e di attori scialbi (perfino Morgan Freeman!!) non amerà molto questo film...mediocre, si vede una volta e basta. Non vale la pena comprarlo. Ottima consegna, buon prodotto, sottotitolato.

As usual Robert Redford's story is wonderful, wonderfully told and wonderfully filmed! With a wonderful message!!!

I'm shocked that this film has not been released in the UK earlier, I managed to pick up an ex-rental copy of this on DVD a while ago, after viewing the trailer I knew I'd like the film,I was wrong though I love it, it's the kind of film I can only describe as beautiful.The setting/landscape are perfect, you've a great cast including Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, Jennifer Lopez, Josh Lucas and a very talented newcomer (to me at least) Camryn Manheim who plays the daughter of Jennifer Lopez.It's made by the same director that made Casanova (which I've not seen), Chocolat and The Cider house rules, both of which is are wonderful films.From the opening credits to the start of the end credits it runs at 98 minutes long, which leads me to my one and only criticism of this film, I wish it were longer, 2 hours plus would have been fine with me.The following is what's written on the back of the DVD itself:-Director Lasse Hallstrom delivers Hollywood legend Robert Redford and an incredible all-star cast in a powerful story where a broken family learns the only thing harder than holding on is letting go of the past, Einar (Redford) lives quietly alongside his trusted friend (Morgan Freeman) until the woman (Jennifer Lopez) he blames for his only childs death arrives at his door broke, desperate and with a granddaughter he's never met.But even as buried anger and accusations resurface, the way is opened for unexpected connection, adventure, mercy and true reunion.Reading that I guess it sounds a bit of a hard slog, but there's plenty of other things going on in the film together with some good light hearted moments too, Ive just purchased my second copy of this film so I have a brand new copy to go with my ex-rental, it's the kind of film I could watch and once finished go back and watch it all over again,that's how much I love it.