Cavedweller (2004)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

I was engaged by the movie. Thought the plot was believable enough, the direction good and the acting superior. One of my favorite sleeper films. Also the title song has remained with me, many months later.I thought the film dealt well with a number of real human situations involving sibling rivalry, sickness and death, the contrast between rural and urban lifestyles, the breakup of the nuclear family, etc. And I wound up caring about all of the main characters. I don't ask much more of a movie.It does have an indy feel to it, but I thought that added to the charm. I would definitely add it to my library and watch it every now and then.

I dwell on the humdrum experience that is the indie film "Cavedweller". Someone should have "redlighted" this "Cavedweller" and eternally shelve it in its cave. Kyra Sedgwick stars as Delia Byrd, a recent widower who returns to her small hometown in Georgia in hoping to reunite with her adolescent daughters from her first marriage; or in other words the Bird left her California dwell to get Georgia on her mind again. This movie does deserve lifetime achievements; meaning it should only be playing on the "Lifetime" channel. Sedgwick, who is Kevin Bacon's wife in real life, proves that Mr. Bacon is the only one in that dwellhold who is worthy of bringing home the acting bacon. Sorry, Kyra! I guess I got "kyrad" away! Aidan Quinn plays Delia's moribund alcoholic ex-husband who pleads to her to live out his final days with her at his side with their two daughters. Quinn continues his cold thespian streak. He was a mighty acting quinn at one time, but has not shined on screen since his work in "Legends of the Fall". How the legends fall quickly! Director Lisa Cholodenko's noncreative vision of "Cavedweller" was as dark & tedious as a cave itself. "Cavedweller" could have been much better! ** Needs Improvement

I first chose to watch "Cavedweller" when I recognized the names of Kyra Sedgwick and Aiden Quinn, and although the title was intriguing, the full meaning didn't reveal itself until much later. This movie, like real life, is about facing difficult, dark, and echoing choices.Kyra Sedgwick is very believable in her portrayal of the character, Delia, who returns to her small town birthplace of family, friends, and foes. Her patience, subtle strength and will to overcome great odds and criticism, is shown through her actions and inactions of past and present events. Her values and personality are examined with contrasts, balance, and the responsibility to believe in one's self no matter the resulting rewards or failures. And while Delia's three daughters are unique in their own innocence and individuality, each one is a transformed facet of her total personality.Aiden Quinn delivers a credible performance as Clint, the "mama's boy" abusive husband. To me, one word describes his role - karma.As a viewer I became completely immersed and wanted to write myself into the script as a coach and say, "Tell them!"I can relate to the many of the underlying themes. After several years absence on returning to a small town birthplace, where everybody "thinks" they know everybody else's business, I found renewed hope. We can all choose to either rail against the darkness or light a candle.

Dorothy Allison's excellent novel "Cavedweller" is the source of this film of the same title. Ms. Allison's novels are about real people going through tough times in their lives. This movie was adapted by Anne Meredith from the massive novel and the essence of it comes across under the sure direction of Lisa Cholodenko. Ms. Cholodenko's other films show she has an affinity to present characters that are always at crossroads of their lives.This film though, owes a great deal to the courageous performance of Kyra Sedgwick, who gets under the skin of Delia to show us what makes this woman ticks. We see Delia at the beginning in a desolated beach in Los Angeles. She is lost in thought, but evidently, at that moment she has made up her mind to make amends to her past. When she gets home she decides to leave everything behind and go to Georgia with Cissy, her youngest daughter.In flashbacks we get to see Delia's life go through her mind. We learn about the abusive husband, Clint. Also, we witness her betrayal to him and how she leaves her two young daughters for a musician, Randall. Their attraction is all physical; Randall is a man who can't be true to any woman, or remain in a loving relationship.Delia shows her courage in going back to the small town where everyone knows what she did. Her taciturn father takes her in, reluctantly. She goes to see her two daughters, who by now are teen agers; they reject her, as well as the paternal grandmother. But it's Clint, the dying man she left behind, the one that is able to reunite Delia with her daughters. It takes a lot for anyone to go back to that situation and Delia shows she is a woman that can see now where she went wrong, if only a bit late.The acting is first rate. Ms. Sedgwick, as Delia, has the best opportunity. Young Regan Arnold gives an amazing performance as Cissy, the younger daughter who is too wise for her young age. Aidan Quinn, as Clint, has good moments, but of course, the men in this movie are secondary characters. Kevin Bacon is seen in flashbacks and has little to do. Jackie Burrows, as the grandmother shows us a woman consumed in her hatred of Delia. Vanessa Zima plays Amanda, the oldest daughter who has turned to religion to compensate by what her young mind can't comprehend.This is not a film for everybody. Watch it because Kyra Sedgwick deserves to be seen and because it's a story that is original and unique in that is so anti Hollywood, made by a rising voice in film directing: Lisa Cholodenko.