The Stone Angel (2008)

Very well executed

Perfectly adorable

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

This movie features the remarkable acting of Ellen Burstyn as Hagar Shipley, whose life is chronicled here in a series of flashbacks with Samantha Weinstein and Christine Horne as her younger self. As a 90-year-old, Hagar is ailing and losing her memory and her son Mervyn wants to place her in a retirement home. This brings out all the bitterness and regret that she has kept inside and we see scenes from the past that tell us the story of a rebellious young woman, loving mother and the victim of a broken marriage. The movie is a realistic portrait of one woman's life with all its heartbreaks, dashed hopes, loves, and loyalties. Hagar looks back on a life she lived on her own terms. Brought up as the daughter of well-to-do merchant in a small Canadian Prairie town, she rejects her father's wealth and marries the guy she falls madly in love with, against her father's wishes. The marriage between two unconventional young people, who enjoyed great sex and fun, eventually lost its lustre. Hagar's husband was marked by alcohol and an out of control ego that eventually took its toll on both of them. Certainly Hagar knew her own failings contributed to the downfall of the marriage. She re-lived these failings in an encounter with a young woman, well performed by Ellen Page, who exhibits the same weaknesses as she had. The movie is based on a Canadian book by the same name written in 1964. I read the book many years ago in a Canadian literature course but I can see how this movie has much in common with another movie, "Rachel, Rachel", based on A Jest of God, also by Canadian author Margaret Laurence. Margaret Laurence was a great writer whose gift was to write realistically about women who run up against the unwritten rules of mid-20th century life and the harsh consequences that result, especially in small towns. I found this movie was a brilliant tribute to Margaret Laurence and great viewing pleasure.

As an old lady, I found this movie to be a realistic portrayal of a life, and probably kinder to reality than life usually is. In response to the review which did not understand why the son ran into the train: In the early part of the movie, when John was a youngster, he always took a dare from his playmates. One of their games was to stand in front of a train and see who would be the first (and the last) to jump. In the later part of the movie, John was being razzed by his former school friends from years ago, and he took the dare and won. Another train came, and he raised the stakes "double or nothing." This was probably a defiance of his mother's wishes and authority as well as a gamble on a "way out" of his difficulties, ( in love with heretofore unbeknown first cousin.) Another reviewer question: why did the mother favor the youngest boy and neglect the eldest? The same reason her father did the same thing favoring her. It happens all the time.

This movie is about basically human relations, and the interaction between them. The main character is an old lady who at the twilight of her life starts a journey to her past, doing an analysis of how she lived her life. This journey is precipitated because of the sons economic crisis and his intentions to put her in a nursing home. It is a very honest look to some issues that we all ask ourselves at some point in life, and there is plenty of secondary ideas to discuss in this movie such as family legacy, real love, marriage or destiny. although this type of movie melodramas are nothing new, this one can be useful to watch it with family members to discuss some ideas. There is a good performance by the actors and the characters are very believable, but because of the time some characters are maybe not fully developed. I really recommend this movie for a quiet Saturday afternoon.

I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed this most thoughtfully delivered drama, which owing to its rather unimpressive 6.6 rating, I nearly missed; as I rarely give the time of day to any movie rated below 7/10. Having said that, I'm so glad I gave Stone Angel the viewing it so very much deserved. And so should you, if you are one of the increasingly rare sensitive, soulful and thoughtful sorts of person left on this earth in living form.I must say that in many ways (though not all), viz. its themes, execution, style, production etc., Stone Angel very much reminded me of the much praised "The Notebook". I am so surprised that other commentators didn't pick up on the many similarities which repeatedly struck me throughout this movie, so I can only assume that those who've written comments have yet to see the Notebook. They may not share any Alzheimer's theme, yet I can confidently say that if you very much enjoyed "The Notebook" you will certainly find much to engage your time most fruitfully with "The Stone Angel". But even If you've not seen The Notebook, nor read the book on which this move is based, (which, incidentally, I haven't either) you should definitely find much to hold your attention firmly - as long as your favourite genres don't include fast paced action thrillers. This is a movie for thinkers and those who like to reminisce about time's passing, how life changes as the years pass, and what might have happened in one's life as one gazes back through the years.This bizarrely underrated yet great movie really deserves a rating of approximately 8/10. I can only blame its current lowish rating of 6.6/10 on the 11% of idiots who gave it 1/10. After all it has attracted less than 300 votes at the time of my writing this comment. Nonetheless, if those 11% who gave it the lowest ranking possible were really expecting car chases and explosions why didn't they look... for even a few seconds at the movie's premise and promotional lines? Oh dear... Whatever the world is coming to, don't miss this most underrated gem of a movie - but only *if* you have a brain (i.e., your top ten doesn't include Transformers, Fight Club nor The Terminator).