Academy Awards Column.

That's how you know awards season is over...

Click on Kristin to read.

If only the movie had been half as good...

Academy Awards Predictions.

The nerves are kicking in...
My palms are sweaty...
I'm beginning to have Julie vs. Marion internal battles that make me seem like Russell Crowe in "A Beautiful Mind"...
What can all this mean?
It's Oscar weekend!

2007 was arguably one of the greatest years for cinema since the art form was invented.
Surprisingly the Academy's Oscar nominations prove it. While the Oscars have been widely known to pick safe, dull and predictable nominees (just take a look at their Best Picture nominees for 1999 and 2004) this year one almost wishes they'd expanded their five nominees per category rules. Luckily this year, most of the winners will result worthy (except "Norbit" winning anything of course).
"No Country for Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood", both revisionist masterpieces, are battling out for Best Picture and in eight other categories. With no film looking as it will sweep, we might end with one of the most memorable ceremonies of all time in which the boldness of the films evokes the freshness of the 70s.
With Iraq/Vietnam parallels, highlighted by the moment which should make Julie Christie a two time Oscar winner and give "No End In Sight" the documentary award, our world has become more conscious if its mortality.
And whether it comes in weird allegorical Javier Bardem look alikes or animated in black and white with French sense of humor, it's a breath of fresh air to see the Academy is finally putting art before business.

Best Picture

Will win: No Country for Old Men

Should win: There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men, Atonement

One of the most solid Best Picture line ups in ages (and the best so far this decade) is perhaps characterized by its lack of a single biopic among its nominees.

But with cases like Daniel Plainview, Briony Tallis and Juno McGuff the Academy reminds us that truth isn't always more fascinating than fiction.

A case could be made for any of the nominees. "Michael Clayton"'s entertaining legal thrills have the kind of prestige meant to garner nominations, but no sure wins.

"Juno" covers the annual indie slot, but is also a portrait of zeitgeist worthy of time capsules. "Atonement", my personal favorite is the sort of film Oscars were made for, but with no Director nod, some tech awards are all it will garner.

Then there's the big ones. "No Country for Old Men" is a return to form for the marvellous Coen brothers who should've won this award for "Fargo" more than a decade ago and P.T Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" the kind of movie which is impossible to ignore but the Academy will be too afraid to crown.
Both films are extremely dark and existential. Both are new career highlights by their creators and which ever wins, both are true masterpieces.

Best Director

Will win: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen "No Country for Old Men"

Should win: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen "No Country for Old Men"

I'll try to ignore the fact that they snubbed the brilliant Cristian Mungiu and Joe Wright.

The Coen brothers are undoubtedly one of the most iconic and prolifif American filmmakers. They deserved this award for "Fargo" back in 96 and since now they're both getting shared credits, the Academy will find it fit to share a bit.

P.T Anderson might be a threat, but I'm sure the Academy will want to reward him later in his career. If "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" had been nominated for Best Picture, this might have been Julian Schnabel's.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Will win: Daniel Day Lewis "There Will Be Blood"

Should win: Daniel Day Lewis "There Will Be Blood"

Johnny Depp will win someday, but his Sweeney Todd isn't Oscar worthy.

Tommy Lee Jones should have been nominated for "No country for Old Men" but as long as the Academy fellates Paul Haggis we'll have to stick to having any Haggis element nominated.

Viggo Mortensen was brilliant in "Eastern Promises" but the nomination is his award.

If George Clooney hadn't won so recently, he might be a real threat. His Michael Clayton is his finest screen achievement so far.

But as achievements go, Daniel Day Lewis' Daniel Plainview is "There Will Be Blood".

A real force of nature, the Academy will think it's rewarding Anderson here as well and with nobody to Adrien Brody Lewis' walk to that podium all we have to wonder is how will he top the beautiful speeches he's been delivering all season long.

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Will win: Julie Christie "Away From Her"

Should win: Julie Christie "Away From Her"

People complained that 2007 was an awful year for actresses, which only makes ironic the fact that the actress categories are the most exciting and unpredictable this year.

On one side we have Laura Linney who got a surprise nomination, that could very well end with a suprise win for her role in "The Savages".

Then we have Cate Blanchett who reprises her role as Queen Elizabeth II in one of the most critically panned films of the year, but remember Jessica Lange in "Blue Sky"? And anyways the Academy has never forgiven itself for not giving her this award back in 98 and they might wanna make it up to her.

Then we have Ellen Page's Juno, who had the tough job to deliver Diablo Cody's words like a real person and succeeded. But if it isn't for a case of split votes, Page only counts on Roger Ebert's support...which again led Charlize, Halle and Hilary to wins in this category.

The big players however are Marion Cotillard for her portrayal of the doomed Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose" who gave an absolutely flawless performance in a very flawed movie.

If the film had been edited in chronological order she'd have this in the bag. Against her are also the subtitles and the fact that lazy Academy voters rarely watch movies that demand reading and mind boggling structures. But who says they saw it? Both Keira Knightley and George Clooney are Cotillard supporters and can you imagine how international the Academy will seem with two non-English winners?

Then there's Christie who as a fading woman suffering from Alzheimer's gave the kind of performance that can survive 10 long months after being released! She won 45 years ago for playing a sexy, slutty model and now playing a graceful lady would be the perfect bookend for her other statuette.Again, nothing is sure in this category. Really anyone can upset here. For me a win for either Christie or Cotillard would be a good thing.

Even better if it's for Christie though...

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Will win: Javier Bardem "No Country for Old Men"

Should win: Javier Bardem "No Country for Old Men"

The only real lock of the night.

Casey Affleck should be in the lead category where even I'd root for him, but as far as this goes, all I hope is Javier wears a tie and dedicates his win to Penélope.

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Will win: Cate Blanchett "Im Not There"

Should win: Cate Blanchett "Im Not There"

Same as Best Actress: everyone complained how crappy the category was and now nobody knows who will win.

Ruby Dee might win for career achievement. But her "American Gangster" performance was short and unimportant and has only fooled people into buying her because she was indeed the best thing in a very flawed film. But come on, if not even Peter O'Toole got one, a cameo by Ruby Dee does? Really?

Saoirse Ronan's Briony might win if everyone else splits the votes, but then again the Academy loves mean girls, if not ask Anna Paquin.

At one point everyone though Amy Ryan's junkie mom in "Gone Baby Gone" was the one to beat, but despite her great performance, the buzz has been dying.

Some of it transferred to Tilda Swinton, who got huge buzz after winning the BAFTA a few weeks ago. Truth be told this might be the only category where "Michael Clayton" might win big, but is Tilda too weird for the Academy? (That letter to her son, the clothes, the androgyny, the men swapping) One has to love that we still have people like Swinton around.

But their choice for edgy, avant garde-ness seems to have a new name: Cate Blanchett.

Her Bob Dylan in "I'm Not There" is probably the best female performance of 2007 and while she won a few years back for playing Kate Hepburn, is it really her fault that she is so damn good?

Blanchett is pregnant which might get some awww votes, she gives a gimmicky performance (Linda Hunt won for the same here) but for those who see beyond the gimmick Cate might seem threatening.

I'm sure someone else will win this, but for once I'll pretend I live in a world where people simply vote for the best.

Best Original Screenplay

Will win: Diablo Cody "Juno"

Should win: Tony Gilroy "Michael Clayton"

Diablo will win because she's a stripper. Not any kind of stripper, but one who overcame that sinful world to become an Academy Award nominated lady. The American dream!

Despite the fact that her Juno is a "Gilmore Girls" ripoff , it has some quotable lines and the indie always gets this award.

But it should really go to Gilroy for refreshing the legal thriller in "Michael Clayton".

Best Adapted Screenplay

Will win: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen "No Country for Old Men"

Should win: Christopher Hampton "Atonement"

The Coen brothers are known for their crisp, witty and darkly funny writing. Their screenplay for "No Country..." is no exception.

And while "There Will Be Blood" is an exceptional achievement, it doesn't look like screenplay work. The same goes for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly".

Sarah Polley's lovely "Away From Her" does a great job adapting Alice Munro's short story into an ellegiac love story, but its effect is perhaps too subtle to take notice.

Then there's Hampton's brilliant, allegorical adaptation of Ian McEwan's bestseller. Hampton's work which tries to figure out the essence of what makes writing so important is perhaps the kind of thing why screenwriters went to strike in order to defend their rights.

"Atonement" elevates the written word to the divine and also makes a greatly entertaining film out of it.

Best Documentary Feature

Will win: "No End in Sight"

Should win: "No End in Sight"

Michael Moore himself noticed how the Academy finally opened its eyes to the Iraq war and "No End in Sight" is every bit as enfuriating and informative as we need now.

It's a truly exceptional lineup, except for "War/Dance" which has the kids' stories the Academy loves and often rewards. Only this one might upset "No End in Sight".

Best Foreign Language Film

Will win: "The Counterfeiters"

Should win: "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"

Austria's entry has everything Oscar voters embrace: uplifting spirit, mild sense of humor, good performances and WWII.

Too bad they snubbed the marvelous Romanian film for even a nomination!

Best Animated Feature

Will win: "Ratatouille"

Should win: "Persepolis"

Pixar's "Rataotuille" is perhaps their best work to date, but Marjane Saptrapi's story about an Iranian expat, trying to fit into the Western world is the kind of film that reminds us hand drawn animation should be here to stay.

Best Cinematography

Will win: Seamus McGarvey "Atonement"

Should win: Roger Deakins "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"

Janusz Kaminski's work in "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is the best in technical terms and in pushing the camera to new levels, while Roger Deakins' spare work in "No Country for Old Men" recalls "Brokeback Mountain", but if that one didn't win and had greener pastures, this one is out too.

Robert Elswit's magnificent job in "There Will Be Blood" took us to the tunnels and oil fields of turn of the century California.

One of the night's strongest categories (perhaps the best in terms of cinematic quality overall) it's great to see that the cinematographers' branch is nominating the best in their field.

But when it comes time to vote, everyone gets to do it and normal voters probably pick the prettiest, and easiest, thing which is why McGarvey's old style cinematography and the way he shot Keira in the mist with that dress will give him Oscar number one.

Best Editing

Will win: Roderick Jaynes "No Country for Old Men"

Should win: Roderick Jaynes "No Country for Old Men"

If only for the hotel sequence. Slow, yet thrilling. Revealing and somehow cryptic.

It's oure brilliant stuff.

People are saying "The Bourne Ultimatum" will win here, but will the Academy reward this kind of movie when it passed up "United 93" last year?

Best Art Direction

Will win: "Atonement"

Should win: "Atonement"

The prettiest picture usually gets this and "Atonement" also happens to be the most complete ouf of the nominees. It's lush English manor and latter WWII ravaged London scream more art direction than the dusty "There Will Be Blood" and the bloody, but barely there sets of "Sweeney Todd".

Best Costume Design

Will win: Atonement

Should win: Atonement

Why?

Period.

Best Original Score

Will win: "Atonement"

Should win: "Atonement"

Dario Marianelli's inventive score contributes as much to "Atonement" as the acting, directing and writing.

Too bad they snubbed Johnny Greenwood's brilliant music for "There Will Be Blood" and Nick Cave's fascinating score for "The Assassination of Jesse James".

Best Original Song

Will win: Falling Slowly from "Once"

Should win: Falling Slowly from "Once"

Despite the fact that "That's How You Know" almost restores the early 90's Renaissance of Disney, three "Enchanted" songs are sure to cancel each other out, which will leave "Once"'s beautiful love song as the hip and deserving winner, if for no other reason that the film was snubbed everywhere else.

Best Makeup

Will win: "La Vie en Rose"

Should win: "La Vie en Rose"

For making Marion Cotillard look 100 years older.

Best Sound

Will win: "No Country for Old Men"

Should win: "No Country for Old Men"

Best Sound Editing

Will win: "There Will Be Blood"

Should win: "There Will Be Blood"

Best Visual Effects

Will win: "Transformers"

Should win: "The Golden Compass"

Best Documentary Short

Will win: "Salim Baba"

Best Short Film (Live Action)

Will win: "Tanghi Argentini"

Best Short Film (Animated)

Will win: "Madame Tutli-Putli"

The Academy Awards, Sunday February 24 on ABC.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ***1/2

Director: Andrew Dominik

Cast: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck

Paul Schneider, Sam Rockwell, Mary-Louise Parker, Zooey Deschanel

"Now or never is your chance. If you don't get him now he'll get you tonight."

from Robert Ford's letter to Governor Thomas Critteden (April 1882)

A film that reveals its plot in its title must have something else up its sleeve. Andrew Dominik's sophomore film is a meditative look at the last days of the outlaw gang led by Jesse James (Pitt), but it is also a raw look at the sinister double moral that served as foundation for the American myth.

The film is set in 1882 where James' reputation has become so vast, that it's making it impossible for him to work without fear of betrayal.

The government has put a price on his head and the members of his gang have become fearful that Jesse will doubt them.

Among them is the young Robert Ford (Affleck) who joined the gang after a life long adoration of James. Under his bed he has a cardboard box filled with Jesse James memorabilia which is object of constant mock from his brother Charley (a great Rockwell).

Robert develops a love/hate relationship with his hero that gives path to his eventual betrayal, powered by pressure from the governor who recruits him as a double agent of sorts.

While the film takes its time taking us there (its languid pace might very well evoke the empty feeling of dread held in those days) it sets points along the road which make the experience feel like so much more than historical trivia.

Pitt has rarely been better than in his unflattering glorification of a man who at one point becomes smaller than his reputation. The actor's unusually beautiful features become enigmatic when the camera concentrates on his slow weathering. The moment that Pitt decided to play James like a normal man, who had an outlandish job, was when his performance became so profound. Driven by anger, violence and a fear he can't hide for long, one has to wonder what made him so fearsome.

Affleck is a revelation whose battles take place inside his head. From the beginning of the film he has a creepiness to him that is only bigger than his admiration for Jesse James. In one of the film's best moments, Robert begins counting all the similarities he and Jesse have. His conviction and shy excitement are terrifying and moving at once, which is why the film establishes a huge dilemma that Ford has to carry.

When exactly did the murder of a criminal becomes betrayal? By film's end, Ford has become infamous, instead of heroic.

The supporting cast creates a more full portrait of the era including a pervy, eager and complex performance by Schneider, a giggling anxiety filled Rockwell and Parker who as James' wife, in a role with almost no dialogue, effectively states gender politics of the era.

The parallels drawn between those early times and our constant public bashing of celebrities we have put on pedestals couldn't be more appropriate or disturbing.

And what better way for Dominik to make his point clearer than by using the American genre by excellence?

This revisionist western dissects the concepts that made its genre rise as a questioning of the system. By the time depicted in the film, the wild west had given path to industrial progress and the characters are also caught in a limbo between playing by their rules or those the world is imposing on them.

Gorgeously shot by Roger Deakins, the film feels like an eye into the past. Deakins' amber palette and unfocused edges recall the stereoscope pictures of which Jesse James' corpse would become an icon.

Filled with melancholic beauty and decaying urgency, the visuals sometimes speak more than any line of the script and their manipulation as means to fit into a contraption (whether it be a stereoscope or a film projector) only make us more conscious of human nature's irrevocable fade out.

Oil Drunk Love.

A true modern masterpiece that will probably be studied for decades to come.
Click on the picture to read my review.

Control ***1/2

Director: Anton Corbijn

Cast: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton

Alexandra Maria Lara, Joe Anderson, Toby Kebell, Craig Parkinson

"You are so depressing" says Annik (Lara) to Ian (Riley), before she embraces him and gives him a kiss. He just stares blankly into the distance. Affected, surprised, scared, somehow moved and indifferent towards these words. This moment could very well sum up "Control", Anton Corbijn's stunning debut feature about the life of doomed Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis.

The film begins with a 17 year old Ian leading a normal life in Macclesfield, England where he dreams of being in a band.

He meets Debbie (Morton) who is dating his best friend Nick (Matthew McNulty) but marries Ian in a heartbeat.

Soon they come to find that the married life is not their thing and while Debbie tries to shape herself as the perfect housewife, Ian begins looking for a band to sing in, while working as a clerk at the local Employment Exchange.

He meets Bernard Summer (James Anthony Pearson), Peter Hook (Anderson) and Terry Mason (Andrew Sheridan) with whom he forms Joy Division. They get a lucky break when they appear in Tony Wilson's (Parkinson) TV show, which brags about being the first to have played "The Beatles and The Buzzcocks" and before long they have become quite famous in Europe, but somehow this fame and the troubles that come with it are more than Curtis bargained for.

With a revealtroy performance by Riley, the film almost works like a documentary. While Riley nails the singing voice, the poise and the dance, his miraculous work lies in the little moments.

Playing Curtis like a manchild, trapped between real life and what he wants life to be, Riley creates a remarkable portrait of loneliness.

"A cloud hovers over me, marks every move" he narrates and perhaps there was nobody who was as conscious of his mortality as Curtis.

Ian was alone, even when he was surrounded by people. Riley somehow gives a perfect performance about a very imperfect person. While Curtis seemed to doubt every decision he took, Riley bravely dives and evokes this mood.

Morton is terrific because instead of playing Debbie like one of those suffering biopic wives, she creates a woman who was in love with an ideal. The pain inside her doesn't come whenever Curtis does her wrong, but in more of a "Madame Bovary" realization that this can actually happen to her.

Parkinson plays a splendid Wilson and Anderson is magnificent infusing the film with a droll sense of humor which it often needs.

Not your typical film about the weight of fame, "Control" is never condescending towards its lead character, since Ian often comes out looking like a real bastard.

He neglects his pregnant wife when he falls for Annik and has no problem confessing his infidelity and later asking for a second opportunity.

But what makes this film such a remarkable portrait isn't its raw depiction of Curtis, but also its selfconsciousness about its limitations.

Corbijn never tries to suggest he knew what was going on inside Curtis' head, instead he lets the events and Joy Division's music speak for themselves.

With the aid of cinematographer Martin Ruhe, the director makes something stunning out of this film. Every frame seems like a lost piece of rock history in a way "Control" is like a musical biopic imagined by Michelangelo Antonioni.

There is not a single image that isn't important and the elements fit into it creating a sort of melodical feel, which is why the result is reminiscent of one of the band's songs: extremely controlled on the surface, but hiding an emotional truth so dark, that it can't be contained.

The restrained pain within the movie has a musical effect on us: we only think we all are listening to the same thing.

The Darjeeling Limited ***1/2

Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson
Amara Karan, Wallace Wolodarsky, Waris Ahluwalia, Anjelica Huston

The Whitman brothers haven't spoken to each other in over a year. Their father passed away and their mother (Huston) has vanished. They get together in the title train in India, where Francis (Wilson), the eldest brother, has summoned them to go in a spiritual journey and find their bonds again.
Francis is a control freak who has made an itinerary and carefully had his assistant Brendan (Wolodarsky) plastify it.
Peter (Brody) is torn about the fact that he wants to leave his pregnant wife and Jack (Schwartzman) spends most of his time thinking about his ex-girlfriend (Natalie Portman featured in the beautiful prologue "Hotel Chevalier").
Like in any Anderson film you may come to expect stunning art direction and detailed character creation, Oedipical issues, a great soundtrack (here mostly composed of pieces from Satyajit Ray's films) and a haunting, bittersweet feeling that lingers inside you even after you wonder what the hell the film was all about.
Anyone might argue that the trip is only an element for Anderson to have his characters together, since it's their little misadventures in India that actually make the film so rich.
Peter hits on a stewardess (the lovely Karan), while Francis constantly checks his itinerary for ritual time and just when the film is feeling aimless there's a very un-Anderson twist that makes us reevaluate the whole experience.
While going to India for enlightment has become almost laughable, you know for a fact that Anderson could've set his story anywhere else and it would still be as touching.
The brothers never truly find themselves in a sappy way, but Anderson has found them even before they know it.
Wilson is amazing, his face, covered in bandages from a probable sucide attempt, is as eloquent as ever and Schwartzman's melancholic manner is simply lovable.
At first Brody seems like he doesn't fit the Anderson universe, sometimes you can see he's having so much fun that he can't hide it. But this differences only reassure us of how the Whitman brothers have stopped knowing each other.
Their characteristic distant gaze, the suits they wear, the constant smoking and the specific sibling dynamics always make us know that these men truly love each other and because of their shared traumas don't even know it.
"I wonder if the three of us would've been friends in real life. Not as brothers, but as people. " asks Francis during a key scene. They all look at each other and regret all the secrets they have been keeping, but which obviously speak not so much about distrust, but about trying to keep each other from suffering.
In a filmography that has gotten us used to a certain amount of minimalism, it is only now that Anderson's depth begins to impress. Almost as if it can't be contained anymore by the visual quirks and pitch perfect dialogues of its creator.
There are little events in the film (mostly powered by brilliant cameos) which speak of a bigger universe that Anderson, as his characters here, only now begin to acknowledge.
They say that life is mostly about the journey and never about the destination.
When boarding "The Darjeeling Limited" this couldn't be more true.

Across the Universe *1/2

Director: Julie Taymor

Cast: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson

Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther, T.V. Carpio

Julie Taymor lets you down in this overblown cornucopia of visuals, the Fab Four and faux political statements dressed in film clothes.

Jude (Sturgess) is a Liverpool dock worker who leaves home to find his dad who works in Princeton.

Max (Anderson) is a WASPy type who despises his wealth and drops out of college to take the bohemian life.

His sister Lucy (Wood) has just graduated from high school and lost her boyfriend in Vietnam.

Prudence (Carpio) is a young lesbian who develops a new crush in every scene, but seems to have trouble coming to terms with her sexuality.

Before you can say Yoko Ono, all of these people have come together to live in a Greenwich Village apartment where they go through civil uprisings, war and heartbreak.

Lucy falls for Jude, Max gets drafted and Prudence develops an infatuation over Sadie (Fuchs) a Janis Joplin inspired crooner who was inserted into the plot to play voice for JoJo's (Luther) Hendriz-esque guitar.

Done specifically to play "spot the reference" with fans of The Beatles, the plot revolves around their songs and what moment and visual statement Taymor finds appropriate for each of them.

While you get an inkling that the film was trying to remind us of the timelessness of the songs and the parallels we can draw between the 60s and this decade, the point gets lost or muffled under the images and sounds.

None of the characters get believable emotional archs. You wonder where did all of Lucy's grief go and why does she fall in love with a British womanizer who apparently couldn't care less about his father's rejection.

But when you're beginning to take notice of the obnoxious shallowness of the film, Taymor throws another unnecessary musical number at you.

Just when everything seems as if it's "borrowed" enough from "Moulin Rouge!"'s aestehtics and The Beatles' songs, the film comes and delivers its supposed universal message of how to fix everything: all you need is love.

While the characters sing that and we reflect on how they never seemed to have been affected by anything that occured to them and all they care about is behaving like irresponsible hippies with empty agendas, we sadly realize that nothing's gonna change their world.

4 Stars, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.

Click on the picture to read my review.

27 Dresses *

Director: Anne Fletcher

Cast: Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Edward Burns, Malin Akerman, Judy Greer

Jane (Heigl) is always a bridesmaid...literally. She has become the perpetual best friend who always helps other brides in their big day, while she only dreams of her own.

She fantasizes about the day when her boss George (Burns) will finally realize he loves her and propose, but when Jane's younger sister Tess (Akerman) arrives in town, she's the one who ends up living Jane's fantasy.

Now she must plan her sister's wedding to the man she loves.

What should be a cute romantic comedy about making your dreams come true, turns into a parade of bitchiness where each character outodes each other in dislikeability.

Tess is the kind of character you know will eventually evolve, but she's such a liar that you wonder why does Jane put up with her.

Jane's a pushover, but instead of making us root for her, because of her noble qualities all you wanna do is slap her (which, scene stealer, Judy Greer's character eventually does).

Even Jane's eventual Prince Charming, a cynical journalist (Marsden) who unbeknownst to her is the author of her favorite wedding stories, results more stalker than romantic.

But when Jane starts taking her life on her hands, she becomes an awful person, the one who you hope never gets married!

Not since Lars von Trier had a director made the lead actress suffer so much, so it's good that Heigl possesses an incredible charm and next door beauty that make us look at her and smile regardless of the tortures she's being submitted to.