A Map of the World
1999
**½
Director: Scott Elliot
Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore, David Strathairn, Arliss Howard, Chloë Sevigny, Louise Fletcher, Dara Perlmutter, Sara Perlmutter, Marc Donato, Kayla Perlmutter
Alice Goodwin is a school nurse who lives with her husband and two children on a small Wisconsin farm. After a tragic accident on the farm, Alice's personal and professional life comes under legal and societal scrutiny. Scott Elliot's sole directorial effort deals with guilt and forgiveness, but the end result is all over the place. I like layered characters, but I would like them to behave in a logical and consistent manner throughout the story. Sigourney Weaver tries her best, but Alice is frankly incomprehensible. One moment, she is a loving wife, mother, and friend, the next moment, she bangs her head against the table. The events centre around a court case, which turns out to be a sidenote. The tagged on narration in the beginning and the end are a dead giveaway that this is an adaptation of Jane Hamilton's 1994 novel.
