Rating: 
Summary: Interesting movie, does not do justice to too many aspects
Review: Boaz Yakin's movie, "Price Beyond Rubies" is an interesting movie with some good performances. But it is heavily Hollywoodized and the Hasidic Jewish community is generalized and simplified. It shows the life of a woman who lives the life of a Yeshez Chayil (Good Wife) for a man who teaches kids in a Yeshiva. Her life is locked in. Renee Zellweger plays her part very well. She finds that her husband cares more for his religion than for her and her child. She finds an outlet in her work as a Jeweller. This leads to her spending more time at work than her family (especially when she loves her child, I cannot understand this). She also has a brother-in-law who is predatory. His logic about sins is one of the silliest that I have heard. This eventually leads to her estrangement from her community and her family. She eventually finds sanctuary with a Puerto Rican who is a gifted artisan. I know enough women who do not like living in such communities and found a way out.
There are too many inconsistencies in the movie. Any Jew who knows the Torah would know that no husband should neglect his wife for his religion, it is a sin. I will not go into the details here about how a husband has to treat his wife, especially on Shabbath, there is a Mitzvah. Sonia never wears the proper attire in a large part of the movie, for a Hasidic Jew, that is a no-no. She gives up her child without a fight. Also, the way her husband teaches in the Yeshiva is silly and outrageous. Any orthodox Jew would be insulted by such a portrayal. Also, the Rabbi's role was very controversial. When the Rebbitzen comes and tells Sonia, "Thank You" after he died, that was the silliest part. Given that he was a good Rabbi (some people call him "Moshe Rabbenu"), he would have never disregarded his wife whom he had loved so much. Granted that one can make a fantasy of a story, but over-generalization leads to trivialization, that in turn leads to false portrayal of a unique community that has a distinctive nature and values (some positive, some negative). But harping on the negative values alone is a travesty and leads to other people, Jews and non-Jews looking down upon them. A more balanced portrayal is called for. Every community is human and has its faults, no doubt, but having been involved with some people in this community, I can tell from first hand experience, that this movie is a non-realistic portrayal.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark Side
Review: Despite the Orthodox Jewish background this movie is really about a womens life and her ways of reaching what she has always wanted. See the movie with an open mind and all will be well.
Rating: 
Summary: A JEWEL!
Review: Don't waste your time on this pointless film. Couldn't even watch it to the end. I couldn't believe that Ebert gave it two thumbs up! For what?! Maybe this movie could have been a gem with a different storyline, but it fell flat on its face.Renee picked a dud this time.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: Don't waste your time on this pointless film. Couldn't even watch it to the end. I couldn't believe that Ebert gave it two thumbs up! For what?! Maybe this movie could have been a gem with a different storyline, but it fell flat on its face. Renee picked a dud this time.
Rating:
Summary: No cigar -- not even a cigarette butt
Review: Here we go again with yet another film that portrays a traditional culture as something that women need to "escape" from. When will Hollywood move beyond this tired cliche? The stark, forbidding dialogue in this movie shows that the writers have never been in a real Hasidic home. Yes, it is true that Hasidim put on a stern face on the streets for self-protection, at home there is love and warmth the same as any other family. This is not a portrayal Hasidism as it really is, it is a stereotype of what Hollywood secularists think it "must" be. This film not only missed the mark, it never even hit the side of the barn.
Rating:
Summary: Sleeper ...
Review: I adored this film. Didn't read the book and didn't even know there was one. The acting in this film is riveting and the direction is superb. But a not so silent star is the sound and the music for this film. The integration of the sound score with the drama of this plot was a perfect marriage. I will be purchasing this for myself on a DVD soon ...
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing--as it should be
Review: I am not a professional reviewer as many of the others who have commented on the movie seem to be-- but I thought it was important to share my opinion. The critics of this movie were originally divided, as Leonard said, because you have to be knowledgable of the Chasidic community to understand it. Sonia is not a woman who is only seeking sexual freedom, but a woman seeking a life beyond what is being offered to her. Her brother in law does NOT say that she is a price above rubies! In the end, her husband--who gets trashed so much in reviews--has an evolution all of his own, and gives to Sonia the ultimate gift to a wife, a ruby. His brother in law does not help her in the slightest, but uses her talents to best himself. In the end, Sonia is a strong woman who decides for herself who is right and who is wrong, and in the end, she respects her husband, even though they will no longer be married. And for those who wish for the "ghosts" to not be present, it is our ghosts and our ghost-stories from the past which shape our realities of today. Watch it again, and see it for what it is. Beautiful, haunting and very, very disturbing.
Rating:
Summary: In love in a Different World
Review: I bought this video out of curiosity because my girlfriend told me about it. I liked it very much and this is one of Renée Zellweger's best performance. The story is of a vestern woman who marries into a jewish family and how she has to come to terms with living in a totally different culture than she is used to and finally leaving that culture, witch is actually my girfriend's story too and se loves this film.
Rating:
Summary: Sensitive, not predictable and entertaining
Review: I had no idea what to expect of this movie, and it surprised me more than a few times. Rather than being stereotypical Hollywood fare, it seemed complex, nuanced and enigmatic to me. I have no idea if the portrayals of Judaism were authentic enough, but the people and characterzations were believable and complex, whatever their religion. I was disturbed by them at times, confused, cheered, amused, repulsed, moved, heartened, saddened, scared. It was like good literature not opopular melodrama. A lot better than the norm.
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking
Review: I just finsihed wathching this movie. All I can say is, wow
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