The Upside Of Anger

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  • George Bellefontaine
    Moderator Emeritus
    • Jan 2001
    • 7637

    The Upside Of Anger

    This is a character-driven comedy/drama starring Joan Allen and Kevin Costner. The "Anger" in the title is there for a reason. Joan's anger begins with the sudden disappearance of her husband. She has reason to believe that he has run off with a younger woman, leaving her to fend for herself and her four grown daughters ( played by Erika Christensen, Evan Rachel Wood, Keri Russell and Alicia Witt). Her anger spills over into her relationship with her daughters, and she turns to the bottle in a big way, hoping this will drown her frustration and anger.
    Then along comes Costner, a retired baseball pro who eeks out a living by playing radio talk show host and by selling autographed baseballs. He lives by himself, drinks too much and is an outright slob. He sort of forces way into a relationship with Joan and over time her relationship with her daughters improves and she even begins to believe there is hope for her to find happiness with Costner. Then the past re-emerges to change things.
    The beginning of the movie sets you up for this, but to be honest, I was really surprised by this wrinkle that leads to the conclusion.

    Joan Allen's acting is nothing short of fantastic. I am a hardcore Kevin Costner fan, but I'd have to admit that his performance here is the best thing he's done in quite some time. The story is well scripted and the film is well directed. At just under 2 hours, it is a bit long and some may find it drags in places, but I felt every minute was necessary to properly develop the characters.

    Some nice music on the soundtrack and the New Line transfers is excellent.
    This is one I will watch again.

    :4: out of 5
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  • Foxman
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2003
    • 434

    #2
    At the behest of my wife we purchased this and finaly watched it last night. I am so glad to have found this review. I agree with what you said about the movie. Talk about a under the radar movie. Anyway we very much enjoyed it.

    The beginning had me thinking it was one of the daughters, so I was also very surprised by the ending.
    IMO

    My Movies
    Bad Pics of my system

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    • George Bellefontaine
      Moderator Emeritus
      • Jan 2001
      • 7637

      #3
      Russ, re: the beginning and ending. I thought the same as you.
      My Homepage!

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      • Kingdaddy
        Senior Member
        • Jan 2004
        • 355

        #4
        What a morbid ending, changes the way you think about the characters once you know what really happened to the husband. I went from liking the leading lady to despising her. Very good film however, best shock ending since 6th sense.
        My Center Channel Project

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