Reckless (1995)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Fresh and Exciting

This is an astonishing documentary that will wring your heart while it bends your mind

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

I saw this film on Christmas Day in 2001 on PBS. Nine years to the day later it's still as vivid in my memory. After seeing it, as the credits started to roll, so did the tears down my face.It surprises me that I never heard of this film when it came out as it's artistically a gem of a film. The acting is superb of very high caliber. It's got a twisted story in more ways than one, extremely compelling for those that appreciate a complex, tightly woven plot line.If you have ever been betrayed by someone near/dear, this story will reach in on a visceral level and pull you in.The overall message is powerful. It comes full circle from the extreme vulnerability to empowerment as it underscores the moral qualities and staying true to one's core values even in the face of overwhelming adversities.My nephew is going through some hard times, I wish he could see this film today....Merry Christmas!

I was going to be all apologetic for praising this film, but if you look at the ratings for this in detail you'll see that the MAJORITY of people give this film a rating of 5 and above. So how does IMDb arrive at its "weighted average" of 4.4? Ridiculous. Lots of '9's and '10's--and are we to think that all of those '5's, '6's, '7's, and '8's are put in to 'game the system'? Puh-lease.The only thing that keeps this movie from being a '10' for me is the fact that it's crazy plot developments keep coming and coming and coming, with a ton of false endings. It gives you a headache.But the utter brilliance of so much of this film--Deborah Rush as Trish the embezzler is, all on her own, worth the price of admission! The surprising twists with the Mary-Louise Parker character? The brilliant art direction, with its warped vision of our heroine's world as a winter wonderland in a snow globe gone mad? The plain old beauty of Stephen Dorff? There is A LOT to love about this movie. If you love movies, if you care about and are interested in movies as an art form, you will want to see this movie.It's incredibly funny, it's beautiful, it's strange, it's wearying. It's not for everyone, but I wouldn't want to be everyone. If you're thoughtful, intelligent, and patient, you will appreciate the superb acting, film-making, and atmosphere this film provides.

I happened to tape this film from TV, and it has become one of my favorites. Whatever failings it may have, and I think it has fewer failings than some might think, it is in its way a tour de force of originality. The combination of gritty downfall with under-the-Christmas-tree fantasy works very well -- and that in itself is an achievement. Its charms, by and large, are the small things, the incidental scenes that are accomplished in a unique manner, such as a conversation in American sign language between two women who are wearing large, yellow rubber gloves (in the scene they are cleaning a carpet). While I concede that the title seems fairly arbitrary, it certainly does the film no harm, no more than "Magnolia" did any harm to that film, even though "Magnolia" is surely just as arbitrary a title for "Magnolia" as "Reckless" is for "Reckless." In my view, a film that is unique (as well as uniquely quirky), visually witty, and that can arouse and explore entirely new and unexpected emotional territory in the viewer is a film of value. Mia Farrow's and Scott Glenn's performances are excellent. I would encourage anyone who wants to see something that is entirely different from anything else and that will make an indelible impression, would do well to see this film. And don't worry, the script is just fine; although it is a morality tale, it is not a morality tale with a smug or pat conclusion, as it ends, as it begins, with a weirdly satisfying sort of open-ended grace.

Saw this movie on one of the so-called premium channels (HBO, etc.) on a slow day on a vacation in Wisconsin. Got into it about two minutes after it started and since the plot??? begins during the opening credits I missed just exactly why her husband had put out a hit contract on her. As another critic has said, probably with good reason after seeing her act in this movie. The plot??? is so murky that I never did understand what it was all about but I don't think a Director has ever done a better job of making almost every actor in the movie look and act like a Dork and that about sums it up.......A Dork Movie!