An Unfinished Life (2005)

Redundant and unnecessary.

One of my all time favorites.

It is a performances centric movie

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

If you've seen 'Enough', you know that Jennifer Lopez doesn't always have good judgement about men. In An Unfinished Life, she flees from an abusive boyfriend and seeks refuge at her father-in-law's ranch in Wyoming. She and Pops don't get along, because he blames her for his son's death and she's never told him he has a granddaughter. But with enough time and the truth, they might be able to reconcile.Robert Redford is the father-in-law, and he's completely at home in his natural habitat. It's always great to see him surrounded by the nature he loves. In the film, he's caring for his friend Morgan Freeman, who's recovering from a bear attack. The scenes with the famous Bart the Bear are pretty remarkable, but be sure and reassure the kiddies in the audience that Bart is a trained bear.I liked this family drama; it wasn't too heavy to make it depressing, and it wasn't corny or riddled with comic-relief jokes. For those who like second chances, you've got three plot lines to enjoy: the family drama between Jenny and Bob, a little romance between Jenny and Josh Lucas, and Morgan's journey to recover from and forgive the bear.

Jean Gilkyson (Jennifer Lopez) is on the run with her daughter Griff (Becca Gardner) from her abusive boyfriend Gary Winston (Damian Lewis). She has no where else to turn to except for her estranged former father-in-law Einar Gilkyson (Robert Redford) who still blames her for the death of his son. Einar is taking care of injured Mitch Bradley (Morgan Freeman) from a bear attack. Both Einar and Mitch must come to terms with the past. Crane Curtis (Josh Lucas) is the sheriff in town who falls for Jean.I don't know what happened to the distribution but I certainly don't remember this movie being released. It's got Redford and Freeman. That alone should have been noteworthy. I get why some people dismiss Lopez but she does a really good job in this one. She's a good actress in the right project. This is an emotionally deep movie with great subtle performances from everybody to match. Director Lasse Hallström isn't bringing any flash to this and it can seem slow for some. Redford is just outstanding and his performance deserves to be rewarded.

I checked this DVD out in the public library and I am so glad I neither rented or worse bought this star studded BORE.The story line is weak from the get go and the entire movie seems centered around a rouge bear.Why on earth did they not just kill the thing from the get go was the primary mystery of the entire sad and boring excuse for a script.I think this flick shows again just highly paid and famous cast does not a decent movie. I've seen more pointed and moving flicks made by relative unknown casts and low budgets.Sorry, I can't recommend this except to put you to sleep and see what hot pants the primary female character has. I mean here she is abused and running and has to get in the pants of the local sheriff because, as her daughter muttered, " we all need love,"

My initial reaction after watching this movie was what a beautiful film visually and what a great story about love, acceptance and forgiveness. As I thought more about it I became more unsettled with some of the messages in the film.Every character but one gets understanding, redemption and love for behavior that led to pain, suffering and even death. The violent, possessive, abusive boyfriend gets none of it. He is portrayed as just plain bad who deserves a violent beating from the films hero - no redemption for this man. Restraint and consequences for bad behavior for sure but a viscous beating to be overlooked by the law? Isn't this some of the negative aspect of frontier culture this film wanted to challenge? Perhaps the origins of that man's behavior was in such abuse as a child and built into his psyche. However no understanding or forgiveness is warranted here. Instead of challenging the cycle of bullying, abuse and violence this film helps perpetuate it.