Rating: 
Summary: Even Gwyneth Paltrow Can't Save "Flesh and Bone"
Review: "Flesh and Bone" earns two stars only because of the acting brilliance of Gwyneth Paltrow. She is thoroughly believable as Ginnie, a poorly educated girl-woman who even steals from corpses awaiting burial. Ginnie has a serious alcohol dependency problem, and seeks love and companionship from the much older Roy Sweeney (James Cann). Unfortunately, Paltrow has only has a supporting role in this mess of a movie. The other marquee named cast members include both Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan. Why did they involve themselves in "Flesh and Bone?" Paltrow at least had an excuse because her career was in its early stages eight years ago. One can only assume that Cann wanted the challenge to portray someone totally manipulative and despicable. Cann's intentions may have been noble, but in the future he needn't be so lackadaisical and careless in his actual choices.The story line revolves around the peculiar family values embraced by Roy and his son Arlis (Quaid). At the very beginning, we witness Roy wiping out a family so as not to leave behind any witnesses and "loose ends." A very young boy is even deliberately slaughtered by the father. Arlis is exhorted to always remain loyal to his immediate family regardless of their violent misdeeds. Blood is supposedly more important than adhering to the standard moral norms of compassion and honesty. Quaid's character is far too normal and decent. In real life, it is far likelier that an Arlis would be just as psychopathic as his primary parental role model. Meg Ryan as Kay is also never for a moment convincing as an adult woman of a proverbial white trash background. She fails completely to hide her upper middle class diction. The Director Steven Kloves apparently thought that Ryan's authenticity would be unquestioned if she merely left her hair uncombed. He was egregiously wrong, and the audience had to suffer the consequences. Kloves had so much talent to work with, and yet accomplished so little. The movie's pace slowed to the point where personal self discipline was required to sit through "Flesh and Bone" until its banal conclusion. Gwyneth Paltrow fans should make sure "Flesh and Bone" is in their collection. All others, however, should not waste their precious time watching this far less than successful attempt at serious film making.
Rating: 
Summary: A case of the past coming back to haunt you......
Review: Delightfully dark movie delving into the shadows of family secrets and tragic pasts having drastic repurcussions in later life. Excellent performances from Ryan and Quaid who represent the side of human nature that makes us human. Paltrow and Caan represent the seedy, unredeemable side that we'd all rather pretend doesn't exist. Aside from the story-line this is an aesthetically pleasing movie, beautiful cinematography and haunting silences etch deeply into the viewer's memory.
Rating:
Summary: STYLE OVER SUBSTANCE
Review: Director Steve Kloves manages to make Texas look both gorgeous and desolate. Thomas Newman's score is haunting and evocative; Dennis Quaid, James Caan, Meg Ryan and Gwyneth Paltrow offer complex, fleshed out performances. What destroys the film in my opinion is its listless pandering, its inability to focus on the truth of the issues and its ambiguous and unfulfilled ending. FLESH AND BONE also pulls a big coincidence that manages to be both improbable and unbelievable. Kloves "twist" is predictable from the moment Meg Ryan appears on the screen, and the inevitable confrontation between Quaid and Caan is also telegraphed a mile away. In spite of its good performances and atmospheric direction, FLESH AND BONES is empty and pointless.
Rating: 
Summary: Enormously underrated
Review: Flesh and Bone is an evocative, haunting and rewarding study of a drifting man (played with understated, heartbreaking perfection by Dennis Quaid) who encounters a lost soul (Meg Ryan, outstanding)leaving a violent marriage and begins a tender relationship until a dark figure from his past shows up.
Plotted an as slow burning thriller, this is really more of a complex and intriguing character study of guilt, father-son ties, violent crime and doomed love. Flesh and Bone is a bleak but supremely well crafted film that reaches a truly sad (though inevitable) conclusion. The final moment between our two main characters is incredibly moving (in a very unsentimental sort of way) and a scene that I will never forget. I didnt mind the major plot twist as its no more unbelievable that a dozen of Hollywood's most praised suspense thrillers. The spare, atmospheric photography (set in a desolate, bleak Texas) is exceptional and Thomas Newman's suberb score will get under your skin.
For those who wont something altogether deeper, affecting and more emotionally satisfying with their thrillers (or love stories), Flesh and Bone should be ripe for rediscovery.
Rating:
Summary: Attention to detail makes this movie amazing
Review: From the openning shots to the last image image of this movie, every word of the script and every shot of the camera are related to the theme of the movie. So much so, one might think Edgar Allen Poe, not Steve Kloves, wrote the script. Flesh and Bone is not only a movie of dreadful pasts and drifting futures. It is also a test of two views of life: fate and free will. Kloves uses every symbol he can to impart this test to the audience, stars and words included. And guess what! He let's you decided! All in all, Kloves script is, by itself, great liturature. Quaid, Ryan, Caan, and Paltrow do amazing work in creating their characters and making them real to the touch. You just have to watch it twice. I seriously recommend this movie for English teachers!
Rating:
Summary: real good mystery
Review: I don't know the connection between the girl at the old farm house and the young cowboy
Rating:
Summary: My review of "Flesh and Bone"
Review: I just had to share with everyone else what I felt watching this movie. I honestly believe this movie to be the best movie I ever saw. The story is extremely tragical, and you can't help but hope that this will end up alright. The stunning ending scene, left me with my mouth open and eyes full of tears. This movie simply couldn't have been done better. Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid, although being great actors, never reached the level of acting as they did in this motion picture. I strongly recommend seeing it to anyone who hasn't been through a rough romantic affair lately.
Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic Thriller - Great Plot, Great Acting, Great Music
Review: I'll just be short and to the point. Watch it. Second to "Hot Dog" in The Right Stuff, I'd say this is Quaid's quintessential role, and Ryan's best roll ever. Paltrow is perfect, Caan - well, no arguments here - and the cinematogrophy is just beautiful. Makes me want to move to Texas. Too bad that Texan didn't like it. I'm afraid your'e outnumbered Tex!
Rating:
Summary: A well acted and directed intricate piece of filmaking (sp)
Review: No one is less of a Meg Ryan fan than I. She is, entirely too cutsie for my taste. Not that she's bad to look at mind you. But in this film she is about as sexy, real, and sympathetic as possible. Her performance was perfect for the part. Dennis Quaid gives his finest performance ever as the tormented son of James Caan. It's pretty easy to see where the film is headed fairly early in the picture but it's so well acted and directed that it's well worth the price of admission. The film is extremely character driven including an incredibly cheap yet sexy Gwyneth Paltrow. The movie has much to say about relationships, loyalty, selfishness and the price paid because of them.
Rating:
Summary: "A Viewer from Texas" Just Doesn't Understand...
Review: The ending of this fine film is hardly "senseless." The film is a refutation of biological determinism, although it could also be used to refute environmental determinism. After having been told by his evil father (James Caan) that they have the same bloodline--implying that this must make his son Arlis (Dennis Quaid) evil, just like his father--Arlis buys into this claptrap. "If you're born to it" and "It's not in your blood" are two of Arlis' typical comments. But at the end, when he says, "It's NOTHING--only BLOOD," he has finally realized that we all have free will and that we make our own decisions, bloodline or no bloodline. This film is truly Dostoevskian, PARTICULARLY the ending, which is as good a compliment as you can pay to any film. The great Russian novelist also saw the horrible danger in the determinist credo. Give this film 5 stars and send "A Viewer from Texas" back to school.
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