source: Kyra

I had to stop halfway through. Michelle Pfeiffer and Kiefer Sutherland were skilled in their roles, but I could barely see them. I reiterate what other reviewers are saying which is the filming was too dark. It was hard to see the actors. The storyline was interesting. It had potential, but was just too dark to see anything.

Very good to see Mrs. Pfeiffer again, but her options are bad. A divorcee living at the expense of her dead mother in a dark, shallow, predictable film is very little to her talent. Only worth the note for the star and for Kiefer.

A better title for this film might be "The Lower Depths," that recalls the nineteenth-century naturalism of downtrodden members of the working class. It might also be placed in the category of "kitchen sink" drama that depicts the angst of struggling blue collar workers in Great Britain in the 1950s. But in this apparently dark and dreary drama, the filmmakers oddly seem to be making a stab a comedy as well. Because the film focuses on the travails of a woman and moves from the tragic to the tragi-comic to the farcical style, it might be best termed a "broad" comedy. The focus of the film is a down-and-out woman in Brooklyn named Kyra (Michelle Pfeiffer) whose hardscrabble life is on lurid display. The film begins with Kyra assisting her elderly mother, who dies early in the film. Kyra is broke and unable to find a job. At an interview for a clerical job, she knocks over a plant, and the body language of the employer indicates clearly that she will not be landing the job. The film pointedly addresses how incompetent Krya is in virtually everything. Kyra is so desperate that she begins the charade of dressing up like her mother and cashing her mother's pension checks at the bank, long after the mother's death. Kyra's lover is a man she met in bar: Doug (Kiefer Sutherland), who is a driver who has just gotten his life back together, is appalled that Kyra has committed fraud. But Doug's warning does not seem to register with Kyra. The production values of this film were uneven. The lighting is much too dark and blurry. The pacing is laboriously slow. At one point, Kyra laments that "nothing you worked for is working." That same adage could be applied to this film until a pivotal moment where the style shifts from grim realism to comedy. The police are now onto Kyra's scam, but she is determined that she is going to outfox them. Throughout the film, it is clear that Kyra cannot do anything right, yet at the end, she tries to pull of an amazing stunt and even enlists her loser boyfriend to participate in the charade. If you want to see how all of this turns out, be sure to check the film out and discover how kitchen sink drama can be instantly transformed into broad comedy.

The plot is good, the actors are great, but the movie is so dark that you can't see what is happening...What a waste of talents to have a great cast and don't be able to see theirs emotions because the director decided to shoot it without light! The Pfeiffer's role is very interesting and I believe she could have been nominated for the Oscar if there were just more light on scenes. She have done in this movie much more than Glen Close and Olivia Colman this year and would deserve the Oscar.

Before reviewing this film i must say that (this film isn't for everyone) which means it's not a fun movie to watch to pass the time or a regular drama that gives you the pleasure after watching it. To be specific it is one of the darkest films I've ever seen since ( sunset Blvd. 1950 ) both of them discuss the problems of getting old. (Sunset Blvd.) discuss the life of aged actress in Hollywood while this film discuss the life of a middle aged woman who can't support herself after the death of her mother,she can't do anything because of her age (because most of the places are looking for young, fresh faces) so in order to save herself and her life she kept taking her mom salary by pretending that she is her mom. what was so special about this story is the reality of it, there are a lot of women like Kyra not only in New York, but in the whole world that can't support themselves and the biggest problem is that no one cares , it is so sad and tragic but it's real and people must watch this film to know what's happening in the world not all people are happy and rich there are so many of them who can't even eat. I'm totally speechless to talk about Michelle Pfeiffer performance, she was so good I've not seeing her acting like that since (The Deep End of the Ocean) which was released in 1999. i'm not saying that she didn't give us a good since them she played many good roles but not like this one, her body language and face expression are great. There are two amazing scenes in this movie that blew up my mind : The first one when she discovers that she lost her ID card and she just goes nuts, looking everywhere, even walking in the streets while talking to herself because of the scariness she is feeling of finding about her fraud. The second one is when she goes to her ex-husband asking him for money just to pay the rent of her apartment and she is so proud to ask him because of her pride and i'll admitted that i dropped tears while watching this scene because it is a a difficult situation that no one wish to be in. (this scene must be studied in acting schools) Director Andrew Dosunmu gave us her a very unique way of work most of the scene were dark and the main focus the whole time was in the whole time was in the main character Kyra which kind a strange thing for me that amused me, but i don't think the a regular person would like. There are also so many people didn't like the music of the film calling it annoying, which didn't matter to me because I've found so perfect because it described the situation the Kyra is living in.

Kyra (Michelle Pfeiffer) cares for her mother and can't get a job. When her mother dies, Kyra still cashes her checks. Yup, that's the whole movie now you don't have to see it. I guess this is supposed to be some sort of character development when we feel for the main character doing a criminal act, stealing from the tax payers. I never felt it. Good performances, I guess. Guide: F-word, brief sex and nudity.

Although the movie was very slow, the acting was superb! However, every time a scene depicting upset or possible manic behavior by Kyra would happen, the director Thought it was his responsibility to play this horrible sound like nails on a chalk board, literally. Instead of depressed violin or bass or even piano, he chose weird non musical ear piercing sounds that took away from the movie! My family and I will not be watching anymore Andrew Dosunmu films. And the last scene was absolutely ridiculous - non climatic and a complete show stopper.. again, the fault of the director. Other than these, again, the acting by both was excellent!

Not bad as it is an interesting story and I am surprised nobody came up with it before yet because it is simple and effective. Sure the film had some slow moments and was a bit stretched at times but wonderfully lived from the performance by Michelle Pfeiffer who really turns into one of her best showcases in years. A great gig for her and the prove that this actress deserves way more leading roles than she got in the past years. It is a nuanced performance that works on many different layers and all of them are absolutely believable. Its not an easy character to identify with, in fact you often do not know whether to like her to hate her, whether to feel pity of her or despise her. Pfeiffer perfectly walks on that boarder. Kiefer Sutherland wonderfully supports her. I am surprised he did not get more word or attention for this. Also a really great performance. I was not a big fan of the dark and bleak atmosphere but I guess it fitted the mood. Its a strong character movie that shows how far people would get to escape their misery. Its dark, sad and not always satisfying but it in some ways is honest. I think it did deserve a better screenplay around that story but other than that I appreciate it as a powerful award vehicle for Ms. Pfeiffer.

Nothing award winning here, but definitely a great story.