Rating: 
Summary: To be missed
Review: "A Map of the World" adaptation of Jane Hamilton's novel is a sad story of bad luck changing the life of a woman and her family living in Wisconsin country. Snip: (...)
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as the book, but still worthwhile.
Review: "A Map of the World" will probably be best remembered for its powerhouse performances from Sigourney Weaver and Julianne Moore. Both ladies are pitch-perfect as they weave this terrifying story of how life can change in an instant. The film will definitely leave the viewer shaken. I recommend viewing the film as a companion piece to the novel. The novel simply has more time for character development, and it allows the reader to really get inside the minds of the people in the story. On the whole, however, a picture most definitely worth your while.
Rating: 
Summary: Solidly acted...
Review: A Map of the World finds Sigourney Weaver as Alice, a school nurse who stands accused of child abuse following an unfortunate accident that left her best friend's (Julianne Moore) daughter drowned while in her care. The film occasionally descends into movie of the week territory (particularly during the ending's Voiceover narration), but for most of its duration manages to avoid the trap.Weaver's Alice is quite interesting. She scoffs at the charges, since she feels she did nothing wrong. She initially looks at her jail stay as a vacation from her two children. Her character's attitude diffuses many of the melodramatic aspects of the events on display. Moore turns in a terrific performance, as always, in what is a small role. One scene in particular, in which Moore and Weaver collide at night near the pond where Moore's daughter died is a powerhouse. David Strathairn, playing Alice's husband, does what he can with an underwritten role... The film is not very well directed, but the sheer drama of the events carries the film to watchability. The script is uneven, but it works more often than it dosen't
Rating:
Summary: Excellent acting
Review: Amazing Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, and David Strathairn portray middle America and a compelling drama in this little known, overlooked movie. More movie-of-the-week than theater going movie, the acting is the major propellent in this piece. Weaver plays a overworked, underacknowledged mother, wife, and school nurse, who while watching her best friend's daughters tragedy strikes. Weaver's character is brought to the edge and back, while her husband now has to learn how to care for all the things he just seemed to overlook so easily because his wife was there. Strong performances make this a standout, especially for any fan of these actors. The movie shows how circumstance can bring you to the edge of the world and bring you back and show you what you have and what you never want to forget you take for granted.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent acting
Review: Amazing Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, and David Strathairn portray middle America and a compelling drama in this little known, overlooked movie. More movie-of-the-week than theater going movie, the acting is the major propellent in this piece. Weaver plays a overworked, underacknowledged mother, wife, and school nurse, who while watching her best friend's daughters tragedy strikes. Weaver's character is brought to the edge and back, while her husband now has to learn how to care for all the things he just seemed to overlook so easily because his wife was there. Strong performances make this a standout, especially for any fan of these actors. The movie shows how circumstance can bring you to the edge of the world and bring you back and show you what you have and what you never want to forget you take for granted.
Rating:
Summary: A must for young parents
Review: Based on a novel by Jane Hamilton, Map of the World is a gripping family drama. Alice ( Sigourney Weaver ) and Horward ( David Strathairn ) have moved to the countryside and own a farm. Alice is a nurse at the local school and Horward tends his farm. Alice is active and a loving person at heart. However, she is disorganised, speaks her mind and often attracts trouble. They have two demanding young kids who get Alice to her wits' end. Their neighbours are Theresa ( Julianne Moore ) and Dan also with two kids. One day Alice offers to take all the four kids for a swim while Theresa goes for an outing. Alice has her hands full with the kids and while she is in the bathroom, tragedy strikes. Theresa's younger daughter has strayed into the pond and is lying face down in the water when Alice frantically finds her. They rush to the hospital, but the worst happens and the child dies. Theresa is completely shattered while Alice is filled with guilt. She is unable to face Theresa and the family goes through social backlash. However, there is more trouble on the way as Alice is arrested for alleged child abuse at school. Horward is now overwhelmed with the troubles in the family. One the one hand he has to take care of the farm and the kids while on the other he has to get Alice out of prison. Director Scott Elliott has handled this family drama well. Several scenes stand out, one between Alice and Theresa after the loss for her child is heartbreaking, a series of scenes showing Alice's anexity at the hospital when the child is strugging for life and then there is one scene where Horward leaves the children in a store of a mall and rushes to meet Alice in prison just in time for the visiting hours. Elliott has also shown the understanding and love between the couple quite naturally. Alice's dislike for her know-it-all mother-in-law comes through clearly. All young parents will easily relate to the tandrums their children throw at the busiest times of the day.There are some unrealistic scenes in the movie too. The women's prison seems like a smart hotel with concealed reading lamps next to the bed and the prisoners are dressed in neat and attractive clothes. What also hits you in the movie is the loneliness and helplessness of the family in difficult times. It's the typical social reaction that is encountered in today's society. Sigourney Weaver and David Strathairn have done a fantastic job. Julianne Moore seems a little less expressive considering her tragic role. The pace of the movie is fair but you will absorbed in the story till the very end. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A must for young parents
Review: Based on a novel by Jane Hamilton, Map of the World is a gripping family drama. Alice ( Sigourney Weaver ) and Horward ( David Strathairn ) have moved to the countryside and own a farm. Alice is a nurse at the local school and Horward tends his farm. Alice is active and a loving person at heart. However, she is disorganised, speaks her mind and often attracts trouble. They have two demanding young kids who get Alice to her wits' end. Their neighbours are Theresa ( Julianne Moore ) and Dan also with two kids. One day Alice offers to take all the four kids for a swim while Theresa goes for an outing. Alice has her hands full with the kids and while she is in the bathroom, tragedy strikes. Theresa's younger daughter has strayed into the pond and is lying face down in the water when Alice frantically finds her. They rush to the hospital, but the worst happens and the child dies. Theresa is completely shattered while Alice is filled with guilt. She is unable to face Theresa and the family goes through social backlash. However, there is more trouble on the way as Alice is arrested for alleged child abuse at school. Horward is now overwhelmed with the troubles in the family. One the one hand he has to take care of the farm and the kids while on the other he has to get Alice out of prison. Director Scott Elliott has handled this family drama well. Several scenes stand out, one between Alice and Theresa after the loss for her child is heartbreaking, a series of scenes showing Alice's anexity at the hospital when the child is strugging for life and then there is one scene where Horward leaves the children in a store of a mall and rushes to meet Alice in prison just in time for the visiting hours. Elliott has also shown the understanding and love between the couple quite naturally. Alice's dislike for her know-it-all mother-in-law comes through clearly. All young parents will easily relate to the tandrums their children throw at the busiest times of the day.There are some unrealistic scenes in the movie too. The women's prison seems like a smart hotel with concealed reading lamps next to the bed and the prisoners are dressed in neat and attractive clothes. What also hits you in the movie is the loneliness and helplessness of the family in difficult times. It's the typical social reaction that is encountered in today's society. Sigourney Weaver and David Strathairn have done a fantastic job. Julianne Moore seems a little less expressive considering her tragic role. The pace of the movie is fair but you will absorbed in the story till the very end. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Gripping story, great music, few flaws
Review: I actually bought this movie because I enjoyed the soundtrack CD by Pat Metheny so much, and because the reviews here on Amazon are favorable. I got more than I expected from this movie. It's so good that Metheny's music is overwhelmed by the drama. I won't go into summarizing the plot, as several other reviewers have done that very well.
If only Sigourney had kept her clothes on, this would be a perfect film for almost the whole family. She delivers an excellent performance, as do Julianne Moore and David Strathairn. The gratuitous sex scenes and home sex video banter amongst the couples should have been left on the cutting room floor to improve the movie. I saw enough of Sigourney in the movie Alien...not that I'm complaining!
This movie highlights how pack-driven we as a people can be in damning innocent people. You see it often in newspapers and magazines. That said, if I were in her place I would be racked with guilt at having let the little girl out of my sight long enough for her to reach that body of water next to their house. It's not like the pond just suddenly appeared at dawn. Heck, a fence only costs a couple of hundred bucks to put up yourself.
Buy it, enjoy it, have a good cry, but keep your finger ready on the fast forward button to skip the aging-actress skin scenes.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent - with one of the best scores in recent years
Review: I came to this DVD because I have cherished the soundtrack album by guitarist Pat Metheny since it first came out. It contains simply some of the most beautiful and touching music I have heard in the past few years. The soundtrack album is also a fanstastic companion to the book by Jane Hamilton, because on the album (which is expanded by almost a half an hour beyond the music in the film) Metheny really tells Hamilton's tale without words. When I finally did see the film (it never played in theatres here) on DVD - I was not surprised to find that it was as gripping as both the book and soundtrack album were - although each of them overlap, they all seem to have a slightly different take on the nature of Alice's situation. The score is somehow hopeful and as Metheny says in his liner notes somewhat "neutral" - Hamilton's book is fairly dry in tone, letting the reader fill in a lot of implied information on the characters on their own. Scott Elliot perhaps had the hardest job of all, because there was a lot of specific information that he needed to cover to tell the story and still make the movie a managable length - the challenge for all would be movie makers transitioning a piece to film. I feel he did an amazing job. I love the way he portrayed Alice as a kind of misfit in the somewhat hostile small town. (a rare occasion that Hollywood has not gussied up the Midwest to fit some Rockwell-like mythology - small towns ARE often mean and petty). And I do believe that Sigorney Weaver WAS robbed of the Oscar she deserved for this. This is her most complex role ever and she shines in it. Also, Julianne Moore made the most out of her scenes as did David Straitharn; although physically he was nothing at all like the way that Hamilton portrayed him in the book. Bottom line? Get it. And do yourself a favor and get the soundtrack album too - it will possibly become the soundtrack of YOUR life as it has for mine over the past year.
Rating:
Summary: Only for fans of Sigourney (or Oprah)
Review: I've been a Sigourney Weaver fan for about 20 years now without ever being convinced that she's much of an actor. I've decided that she's a female Harrison Ford - authoritative in heroic roles calling for steely resolve and clumsy at everything else, particularly romance and comedy. "Map of the World" is a fine showcase for her flinty screen persona and astoundingly well-preserved bod (showing full frontal at age 50 must be a Hollywood record) but it can't transcend its soggy Oprah-fied storyline.
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