Rating: 
Summary: Lovely on all accounts.
Review: I didn't expect this film to touch me like it did. I picked it up half a dozen times at the video store, and finally rented it the other night. Plot wise, it tells the story of several women, linked by emotion and random (or not)encounters with one another. (One woman struggles with her love for her sister and her social needs, another with her dying lover, one with her deep yearning for a love beyond her relationship with her son, another with an unplanned pregnancy, and so forth). We are given glimpses into their private and outside worlds. What truly holds the movie together as a solid piece, instead of a movie version of a short story anthology, is the examination of these women's lives. Within each story an undercurrent of universal emotion tugs and ties the women and the viewer together. The idea of telling the stories of several people and weaving them together unexpectedly is nothing new. Quentin Tarantino unleashed the idea into the major mainstream with Pulp Fiction, and I've seen it played out since then, many times, successfully and unsuccessfully. In this movie the interweaving is done with a delicate touch. In fact, the whole movie has a quiet grace to it. The moments of these women's lives that we're given a peek into are brimming with pain, love, confusion, and unexpected moments hovering near joy. What stunning performances! Cameron Diaz, Calista Flockhart, and Holly Hunter's characters stuck out the most for me. They were riveting. The film is devoid of flamboyance and overacting. It feels and looks real. Be prepared for tears. Watch it. Watch it. Watch it.
Rating: 
Summary: Original, Inventive, Beautiful & Touching
Review: I love this movie, it's everything i said from my title! Making this into a vignette film was very interesting and inventive. All the Women in this film (Cameron Diaz, Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Callista Flockhart, Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman & Valeria Golino) give outstanding performances! All the stories are very sweet, gentle and heartbreaking. This film was supposed to be released in Theatres, instead it was released on Video & DVD. If this movie was given a chance to be in theatres, surely the this film would be nominated for an Academy. This Movie surely has a palce in my top 10 this year, and every other!!!
Rating:
Summary: Great movie!
Review: I really, really enjoyed this movie. There is an aspect of at least one of the characters that anyone can relate to. It carries the viewer through times of desperation, emotional turmoil, coming to terms of the truth, and ones of hilarity due to ourselves going through similar experiences. If anything, RENT it, just to see Goodnight Lilly, Goodnight Christine (it's heartbreaking). :*(
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating character study from Rodrigo Garcia
Review: I stumbled across this film on cable and was drawn by the cast, as most people would be when they see this impressive roster of actresses. I must have seen the title of this film, but really did not pay attention to it. Of course, the title is key to this "anthology" field written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia (yes, believe it or not, this film was created by a male of the species). I picked up on this just by noticing how the first "segment" has Christine (Calista Flockhart) give Dr. Keener (Glenn Close) a tarot card reading while the second has Rebecca (Holly Hunter) a series of similarly disquieting encounters with a bag lady (Penelope Allen). Of course, the "who" and the "how" of the "just by looking" is different in each segment of the film, which is just part of the creative brilliance of this film. "Thing You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her" is not one of those films where the pieces all fit together (e.g, is Robert married to Rebecca's doctor?), although the ending does try to suggest that each of the five main characters (add Kathy Baker as Rose and Amy Brenneman as Kathy to the above referenced actresses) have crossed a major bridge in their lives. Most of the characters appear in more than one segment, symbolism the inherent resonance between segments, and I liked the way one of the characters was both a "looker" and a "lookee" at different times in the film's narrative web. Another major strength of the film is how Garcia always goes off in an unexpected and unusual direction throughout the film. You are constantly surprised by what is happening, not to mention what is being said, which is often outrageously compelling. Garcia is the son of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Columbian writer who earned the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. I am sure that bit of biographical information helps to explain why Garcia crafted such an exquisite little film, but do not ask me to articulate why in any comprehensible way concerning the old nature verus nuture argument. The performances are uniformly superb: Holly Hunter was nominated for an Emmy, simply because this film was sold to Showtime instead of getting a traditional theatrical run. Hunter does have the best acting moment in the film, a scene in which she walks down the street (you will know it when you see it). Much was made of Cameron Diaz's performance as Carol, the blind sister of Kathy, but I recognized a while ago that Diaz is a "former model" who takes her acting craft and film choices very seriously. I think Calista Flockhart might be the actress who most impresses you. But as much as you will be impressed by the performances of these outstanding actresses, you have to be even most impressed by writer-director Garcia. I am so glad I stumbled across this film. It has been quite a while since I have been this impressed by a film. I need to go check out more "independent" films, that is for sure.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating character study from Rodrigo Garcia
Review: I stumbled across this film on cable and was drawn by the cast, as most people would be when they see this impressive roster of actresses. I must have seen the title of this film, but really did not pay attention to it. Of course, the title is key to this "anthology" field written and directed by Rodrigo Garcia (yes, believe it or not, this film was created by a male of the species). I picked up on this just by noticing how the first "segment" has Christine (Calista Flockhart) give Dr. Keener (Glenn Close) a tarot card reading while the second has Rebecca (Holly Hunter) a series of similarly disquieting encounters with a bag lady (Penelope Allen). Of course, the "who" and the "how" of the "just by looking" is different in each segment of the film, which is just part of the creative brilliance of this film. "Thing You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her" is not one of those films where the pieces all fit together (e.g, is Robert married to Rebecca's doctor?), although the ending does try to suggest that each of the five main characters (add Kathy Baker as Rose and Amy Brenneman as Kathy to the above referenced actresses) have crossed a major bridge in their lives. Most of the characters appear in more than one segment, symbolism the inherent resonance between segments, and I liked the way one of the characters was both a "looker" and a "lookee" at different times in the film's narrative web. Another major strength of the film is how Garcia always goes off in an unexpected and unusual direction throughout the film. You are constantly surprised by what is happening, not to mention what is being said, which is often outrageously compelling. Garcia is the son of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the Columbian writer who earned the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. I am sure that bit of biographical information helps to explain why Garcia crafted such an exquisite little film, but do not ask me to articulate why in any comprehensible way concerning the old nature verus nuture argument. The performances are uniformly superb: Holly Hunter was nominated for an Emmy, simply because this film was sold to Showtime instead of getting a traditional theatrical run. Hunter does have the best acting moment in the film, a scene in which she walks down the street (you will know it when you see it). Much was made of Cameron Diaz's performance as Carol, the blind sister of Kathy, but I recognized a while ago that Diaz is a "former model" who takes her acting craft and film choices very seriously. I think Calista Flockhart might be the actress who most impresses you. But as much as you will be impressed by the performances of these outstanding actresses, you have to be even most impressed by writer-director Garcia. I am so glad I stumbled across this film. It has been quite a while since I have been this impressed by a film. I need to go check out more "independent" films, that is for sure.
Rating: 
Summary: Just put your head in an oven
Review: I thought this movie was TERRIBLE. Oh, the cast is fantastic but the story lines suck. They lead no-where, just like the pathetic and joyless lives of these women. These women's lives haven't "turned a corner", as one reviewer suggested, they just went to sleep after a terrible day(s). Not a single thread gets resolved, questions are raised, but never answered. And PLEASE, the "wise bag lady" cliche! Have the writers ever been close to a real homeless person? I seriously doubt it. This was one of the worst and most pointless movies I've ever seen. Save your money (and your time) and get something with some life in it.
Rating: 
Summary: depressing
Review: I was excited when this movie first came out. I was very disappointed. There is no hope in this movie, no laughter, no joy. It was one of the most depressing I have ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: "An exceptional movie..."
Review: I was inspired to buy this movie simply because I'm a big fan of Calista Flockhart, I was a big fan of the tv show Ally McBeal and I thought it was about time I checked out some of her movies, Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her being the first. Calista (Christine) plays the part of a gifted fortune-teller grieving for her dying lover, her perfomance is easily the best in the film and so real it's un-true. Another perfomace who I was touched by came from Holly Hunter, who plays the part of Rebecca, a lonely bank manager who descovers she is six weeks pregnant and decides to have an abortion. If you're a fan of Glenn Close, Cameron Diaz, Calista Flockhart, Amy Brenneman, Holly Hunter, Kathy Baker or Valeria Golino I would seriously recommend that you buy this DVD, it's an exceptional movie and not a chick-flick either!.
Rating:
Summary: Human Stories
Review: I was so looking fordward to watch this movie. It never came out in Spain, so when I was in The US, i rented it (cause it wasn't on sale yet), and it fullfilled my great expecations about it. I am a big fan of Calista Flockhart, and her work in this movie is amazing. Cameron Diaz plays a blind woman and her acting skills are wonderful. Glen Close, Holly Hunter and Valeria Golino are doing a great job aswell. So I don't understand why this movie wasn't a success. It's a combination of excellent & talented actresses developing human & touching women stories. I recommend you to watch it. It's excelent.
Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone, but the target audience will love it
Review: I'm not surprised that this film never made it to theaters. I saw it in a San Francisco theater with a quirky group of feminist friends and we all loved it--but I think the "target audience" (if there is any such thing) is just that--people who are heightened awareness of injustices, however subtle, in the way people are viewed. This film features a doctor who appears calm and collected but in reality suffers from horrible insecurity and lonliness. A tarot card reader (wonderfully portrayed by Calista Flockhart) who supposedly has all the answers sits helplessly as her lover succumbs to illness. A feisty blind woman takes life (and men) lightly while her sister fumbles through a sterile, if successful, existence. All in all, this film is not plot-driven; rather, it is meant to raise questions and leave viewers wondering about their last rash error in judgment.
| 
