Julianne Moore Movie:

Editorial Review:
If you're among those who thinks that statuesque Sigourney Weaver is one of the best American actresses going, then A Map of the World is for you--it's a showcase for one terrific, Oscar-worthy performance. As Wisconsin farm wife and school nurse Alice Goodwin, Weaver projects an awkward, difficult woman--a quintessential outsider, too smart for comfort, at home in neither her own skin nor in life. In contrast to the Good Housekeeping perfection that flows from serene best friend Teresa (Julianne Moore), Alice's house is a mess, her kids hate her, and her ineffectual husband (David Strathairn) has never gotten used to the way she blurts out uncensored, often caustic truths.

In the time it takes for Alice--while baby-sitting--to find her bathing suit and glance at a map of an imaginary world she colored as a child, one of Teresa's daughters drowns. It's the first catastrophe of two--she's subsequently accused of child abuse--that mark the end of the Goodwins' world. Ostracized by her neighbors, jailed with "baby-killers," Alice slowly reconstitutes, drawing unexpected penance and community from her stripped-down environment. It's an utterly fascinating process, watching Weaver's character develop emotional focus and anchorage--as wife, mother, woman.

A Map of the World challenges us--refreshingly--with unpredictable narrative turns, from domestic drama to gritty slice of prison life to romantic interlude to courtroom climax and more. Along the way, this fine adaptation of Jane Hamilton's popular novel delivers insights into what it means to be fallibly human--as well as strong supporting performances by Strathairn and Moore especially, plus Arliss Howard and Chloë Sevigny. --Kathleen Murphy

A Map of the World [Region 2] Reviews:
not a map of the world
2008-03-29 - i had read the novel years ago but had never seen the film version, so when it was offered here, i ordered it with great expectations. maybe i forgot the story & overestimated it, but this is one of the Worst films made. Sigourney Weaver is Awful , a very stilted performance, awkward and spooky, slow, not moving, unsympathetic, not at all how i would have cast it. so i didn't watch it to the end. someone told me several yrs ago that it wasn't good but i wanted to see for myself.
sorry i invested in it, should have looked for a rental, but even that would've been too much money for this pic.

There But For The Grace Of God
2007-12-02 - We all know it but most of us labor to ignore it - disaster dogs our every step and falls from grace don't come with parachutes. Alice Goodwin, played brilliantly by Sigourney Weaver, lives on a farm with husband Howard, David Strathairn. She works as a school nurse and is raising two, often difficult, daughters almost single-handedly. When her friend Theresa, Julianne Moore, drops her two girls off for a play date, it's a mundane, domestic situation. Moments later one of Theresa's daughters drowns in Alice's pond and life is irrevocably altered.

Alice's innocence, and the knowledge that something like this could happen to anyone anytime, helps no one - least of all Alice - and changes everything. Suddenly her activities as school nurse are called into question, careless, sarcastic comments are seen in a new light, mob rule - with all of its inherent stupidity, appears - and the judicial system's gears begin grinding. Before long Alice is in jail, which is both a safe-haven from the real world's unbearable torment and an ideal delivery mechanism for the punishment she craves. Ultimate exoneration achieves almost nothing; this movie is far too real to sell you that cheap. After all, lurid accusations always appear on the paper's front page while retractions are buried far in the back with the garden supply ads.

A Map Of The World is mercurial; it keeps evading your grasp. That's thrilling, because most movies are so predictable. In large part this is because of Alice herself, a smart, feisty woman who speaks first and thinks later, a woman who wants life to work as it should and doesn't feel like doing the schmoozing and nice-making it takes to keep people happy. We know her, we care for her, and we fear for her, because - like so many people who are their own worst enemies - it galls her to "play the game." In our hearts we know that attitude can work when everything's going your way, but after the fall from grace, a little "go along to get along" is considered good form.

The film belongs to Weaver; she is credible and strong in every frame. Moore's expression of maternal grief is unforgettable. But the sleeper performance here is David Strathairn. As a quiet man hurled into extraordinary situations he gives a clinic on the notion that all great acting is re-acting - brilliant. Even the soundtrack, by jazz icon Pat Metheny, shines. A Map Of The World reminds you that film, in the right hands, can be art.

Great Acting but Challenging Movie
2007-09-30 - I know this film is based on a popular novel but it almost felt like there was too much story here. Two families dealing with the tragic death of a daughter in the other's care (one movie). A woman unjustly thrown into jail with other "baby-killer" women (another movie). A courtroom drama of fighting sexual abuse charges (yet another movie).

A MAP OF THE WORLD nearly pulls off all of these storylines...except Sigourney Weaver's character keeps confounding us with distracting and even frustrating lines and actions.

Don't get me wrong: I love Sigourney Weaver. I loved her in ALIEN, I loved and lusted after her in HALF MOON STREET (and GHOSTBUSTERS). I loved her in GORILLAS IN THE MIST. I even remember falling for her the first time I saw her in 1981's EYEWITNESS.

And she's outstanding here. Even playing a difficult woman like this character, you sit back and watch, amazed. But this character makes it hard to root for and like her sometimes. This obviously works for a lot of reviewers here, but the story takes too many twists and turns that you end up wanting to throw your hands up at (at least) one point (and it's a courtroom scene).

I don't know how the book reads, but there are several times that Sigourney's character has so much contempt for country folk--like when she's pratically sneering at a priest arriving at the hospital to comfort Julianne Moore's family--that I could see where viewers would lose sympathy for her. David Straitharn's husband remains aloof and wounded but never really lets us in. I don't know. No easy answers with these characters. Kind of like life....

So obviously this is one of those movies where it doesn't matter what I say or all the other reviews: you may like or dislike this film, but it will challenge you.

The overall cast is great. I really enjoyed Arliss Howard's attorney.

But if you enjoy Sigourney Weaver, definitely check this out.

A Must Have for Sigourney fans
2007-07-05 - This film was hugely overlooked and underappreciated. The performances are honest and very real. The story of a woman who, through a series of horrific incidents, misconceptions and misunderstandings, loses everything including herself. Sigourney Weaver portrays this broken down human being with humility and elegance. Weaver is all at once, strong, emotionally unavailable, depressed, sad, scarey, loving, supportive and charged. This is an Oscar performance if there ever was one. The style in which Weaver illuminates her character is completely different than any other performance in any of her other films (Aliens, Gorillas In The Mist, The Ice Storm).
The story is challenging, but the rewards are fascinating.

Good movie - A bit frustrating
2007-03-13 - I have to agree with those who thought this movie was well done. I also have to side with those who found it frustrating and confusing at certain times. I can't blame this frustration and confusion on Sigourney Weaver though. I had to place it on the direction. There were times I felt as though the character was intentionally trying to punish herself. In the courtroom, the visitor's section of the jail. Maybe it's me, but I just didn't know at times which way the direction of the character was going.

The film is worth seeing and, despite what others may say, the actors played their parts very well.