Film Reviews

An Unfinished Life

• Rating:
• Director: Lasse Hallstrom
• Starring: Jennifer Lopez
• Details: US, 107mins, 12A.

After suffering for too long at the hands (and fists) of her violent boyfriend, Jean Gilkyson (Lopez) flees with her 11-year-old daughter Griff (Becca Gardner) to her estranged father-in-law Einar's (Redford) dilapidated ranch. Things are frosty between Jean and Einar because he blames her for the death of his son who died in a car accident years before. As Jean takes a job in a local cafe, Einar and Griff set about building a relationship with the help of crippled farmhand Mitch (Freeman).However, the threat of Jean's boyfriend turning up hangs heavily in the air.
An Unfinished Life falls down between two stools as it tries to cater to the type of film my father likes (the great outdoors, Robert Redford) with the type of movie my mother likes (a woman wronged, Robert Redford).Director Hallstrom aims for, and succeeds in delivering, a bittersweet tale but in keeping the bitter as far from the sweet as possible, he ends up with two movies hopelessly strung together. His leading lady didn't help much either. When you take a glance at Lopez's previous outings (Monster In Law, Jersey Girl, Maid In Manhattan, The Wedding Planner, Enough, Gigli) it's obvious she needed a hit, and fast, and signing on to a project which stars two heavyweight actors in Redford and Freeman looked like a smart move - think again. Every time Lopez appears on screen, she sinks the whole ship; it's not just her acting abilities (which are not up to scratch), it's her character. We have seen Jean played so many times before and Lopez brings absolutely nothing new or original to the role. Jean, although the catalyst, is made redundant once they hit the ranch because the movie is really about the relationship between granddaughter and grandfather - something Hallstrom has forgotten. From Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid to An Unfinished Life, Redford has always delivered the great one-liner with deft nonchalance and he is on form here again and, with the added presence of Freeman, gives the proceedings both gravitas and much-needed levity but it is too little, too late.

Review by Gavin Burke