Jodie Foster (Diedre) solidly plants her feet in this role and has flashes of the brilliance that made her the darling she became. Philip's (Brad Savage) dialogue is at times unrealistically savvy or philosophical as he alternates between being 7 and 37 but he has some good comic lines and Savage performed creditably.
The relationship between Eugene (Harris) and Diedre is more poignant in what is, initially, left unsaid. When a child is dying words are cheap, better to make the most of the time left. Despite the sadness of the core theme, there are light moments and it serves the right message: death isn't the important thing, it's what we do before then.
Some gripes. For a singer/songwriter, Richard Harris sang the opening/closing theme sounding like a bag of irate cats being pushed through a revolving door, a tender piano instrumental would have served. The overpaid (Dr.) Hallet's callous offhandedness was flawed and grating. If he was using psychology it was from a Martian textbook. Sarah's implication that Diedre was paying for a godless household seemed trite, insensitive and out-of-character.
That aside, the film was better than expected. Jodie was more feminine in this role than she was in Freaky Friday or Candleshoe and it suited her. I was glad to catch this example of her on the cusp of greatness.
The relationship between Eugene (Harris) and Diedre is more poignant in what is, initially, left unsaid. When a child is dying words are cheap, better to make the most of the time left. Despite the sadness of the core theme, there are light moments and it serves the right message: death isn't the important thing, it's what we do before then.
Some gripes. For a singer/songwriter, Richard Harris sang the opening/closing theme sounding like a bag of irate cats being pushed through a revolving door, a tender piano instrumental would have served. The overpaid (Dr.) Hallet's callous offhandedness was flawed and grating. If he was using psychology it was from a Martian textbook. Sarah's implication that Diedre was paying for a godless household seemed trite, insensitive and out-of-character.
That aside, the film was better than expected. Jodie was more feminine in this role than she was in Freaky Friday or Candleshoe and it suited her. I was glad to catch this example of her on the cusp of greatness.