The Event (2003)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

best movie i've ever seen.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The Event (2003): Dir: Thom Fitzgerald / Cast: Don McKellar, Parker Posey, Sarah Polley, Olympia Dukakis, Brent Carver: Sad and depressing film about final stages of life for an A.I.D.S. victim. As played by Don McKellar he is seen mainly in flashbacks through images that family and friends reflect upon. He is gay and he informs his mother that he has contacted the disease. His male lover runs a treatment centre and suddenly all pieces come together in what looks like suicide. Well structured screenplay with a somewhat divert ending. Director Thom Fitzgerald previously made another bizarre independent film called The Hanging Garden but here he is too uneven especially when factoring in the Parker Posey footage. Posey's role as a reporter is not a bad part but often too straight forward but develops nicely during concluding scenes with her mother. McKellar is sympathetic as the dying man who wishes not to sit around and grow weaker. He desires to have his remaining days be a celebration of how everyone viewed him. Sarah Polley is terrific as his actress driven sister. Olympia Dukakis is also featured in scene stealing moments. Well made independent feature that is hardly entertaining but nonetheless very involving. It argues a case over mercy killing requested by the potential victim but these are not events to celebrate so much as the life in question. Score: 7 / 10

When I went to see The Event. I cried. I as a parent realized that this story could be my child my friend or someone close to me. I really wish that they had advertising money to advertise this movie properly. The cast was amazing. The movie kept you entertained the whole time. I would really recommend watching it. I bought the DVD in Block Buster and watched it for a second time and learned things I didn't catch the first time. I am a harsh critic on movies. I would say the footage was a little choppy but on the whole the story was great and bring your tissues to the screen when you watch it. Olympia played a wonderful Jewish Mother with love and compassion. The Movie was suspenseful and it made you think of many different ways the whole thing occurred.

i heard of the movie by chance and caught it while it played (it was only here for a week). i had to go by myself because no one else would go with me. but i did, and i'm glad i did. what an amazing movie. it moved me in ways i never believed possible. i went because of don. i knew little of the plot. an old couple left mid-way through the movie. why? it was hard to watch. it was a hard concept to swallow. i cared about the characters from the start. when the sister reacted to her brother's news of his infection it hit me harder than a bus could have. that's the reaction i would have had. it was a hard topic to deal with, but it was done so properly and it ws very beautiful. the acting, the filming, the writing, it drew emotion out of people.it really is a must see. i can't wait for it to be released for home-viewing. bravo

A excellent film. The Event put a human face on what for many is only a social tragedy and statistics they encounter through the media. The director, Thom Fitzgerald, is due substantial credit for, while not opting for dramatic gimmicks and attempting to create a believable story, putting something togehter that neither collapsed into portraiture nor drolled on into docudrama. The cast performed well also in these regards with a luminous Olympia Dukakis bringing the import of the story front and center. A deeply touching film. Secondarily this film serves as a grave warning in particular to 17-24 year old men, a segment where the HIV infection rate has climbed dramatically during the past couple of years. Many such young men consider AIDS to be a managable disease and not a death sentence and forget that the side effects of many cocktails can all too easily include severe headaches, memory loss and dementia leaving infected individuals with a quality of life that is, in director Fitzgerald's words (who spoke after the film showing at the Quad Cinema in the West Village after the early evening showing on Oct 3) `just not there.' So, find out where this film is being played and go see it!