Touched (2005)

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

it is not easy to understand it if the experiences of characters remains out of your personal circle. because it is a common romance. the acting is decent. the story can be perceived as unrealistic of too pink. in fact, except few scenes, it is image of a hard ordinary situation. many cases who have only deep silence for describe their case. sure, Touched is a commercial version but the story, the basis of story is the same. short, a film who has not as essence the artistic virtues. but the role of medicine for many of its viewers. and this fact is important. the candied, thin sheet of story, the not great but not uninspired performance of actors, the frame of fight, the use of romantic ingredients and, maybe, with indulgence, the end.

This movie was written beautifully. You don't just come across a movie that shows such sorrow and hope and faith and compassion and passion in a way that you can truly feel and live and smile and look at your life in a new way and reflect on your past. The actors/actresses were able to tap into the truth of what they would have felt or what the character may have really been like. It is common to have each of those types of characters in a stressful true situation as this.The mom, well, I have seen my own relatives turn into someone like her yet this mom has compassion and and a strength that some people that rather stand back and watch has. I watched with my eyes in tears as I seen each of the characters as what my family had gone through.It was nice to reflect. The music was well chosen and the scenery purely fitting.I haven't researched what the music is or if it was written just for this movie, but to watch the girl sing and the moment and memories that were made was a great factor in this movie, it went very well hand in hand. I do wish that the story of the brother was more. Just because of after the surgery and what type of the surgery(perhaps i should see what all the cut out sometime). Times to reflect what happened and what was felt helped this movie along. I wish there was more of this movie, just in the sense that I would want it to keep on going. To be real life I suppose. A lot of real life issues made me enjoy this movie for the real worth, for the real story, for more than a movie.

It seems as this movie was made for Jenna (who is also an executive producer of it, remember). In fact, she is the leading performer here, and her character is the one that keeps the story going and evolving. Too bad that the script and perhaps the editing have some flaws, which I won't discuss here (just see the movie and enjoy it - as much as possible). And there are some inconsistencies in the characters, including Jenna's.But all in all it's a refreshingly different kind of a movie than the bulk of ordinary Hollywood products. If your idea of a "movie" is "The Lord Of The Rings", you would fall asleep while watching "Touched": it's sad, it unfolds slowly, it's dark (I mean few lights), and quite quiet (btw, how's that sound, "quite quiet", he he?).I have been curious about this movie, and again, Jenna is a very good actress, not just a wacko comedy blonde chick. Just watch carefully her dramatic performance here and admire how she really, really saved even the lamest melodramatic moments. Forget about "Dharma & Greg", "Looney Tunes Back In Action" and stuff like that, Jenna still has to get the role stimulating enough and fit to her talent.

This script (or its editing) was saved by a combination of great acting by Randall Batinkoff (the reason I watched this film in the first place), Jenna Elfman and Bruce Davison; the good camera work; and moving music.And by a totally surprising ending. I won't say more about that.Jenna Elfman's character is a very sad person. A life full of tragedy and depressing mundaneness. I can't fault the rabid Scientologist's performance, I think it was technically very good in a moment by moment measure. Appropriate tears, thoughtful movements, the whole nine yards. But I never felt that the character was doing anything more than delivering lines and emotions - which, again, she did very well. There was no cohesiveness to the character or her back story. One moment apathetic and depressed, one moment suffering while painting a wall she never finishes (yawn and took too much time from story development - someone thought they were making a music video) and in the next delivering a witty line that jarred you right out of the character - a line that could have been delivered without JE's famous comedic timing and in the same emotional state that the character had the rest of the movie. There were also things the character did that did not seem consistent with the scene before - I'm not sure if that was editing or writing - I suspect both. There were many scenes and moments where JE had no lines, which saved the character from being totally annoying. There were also a few other stories that the character tied together, but again not cohesively (did that guy survive the heart transplant? What was the point of the brother?) Ultimately, the character was the movie's linchpin and she served in that capacity well.Randall Batinkoff's performance was excellent, but he was not in this story enough. That was because his tragedy was meant to highlight something about JE's character. I can see that his acting has gotten even better than it ever was - and he's just as attractive as ever. I really hope to see him in more meaty roles in the future.Bruce Davison, also given short shrift in appearances, did very well with what he had. The parallels of the loss of his character and Randall's was something I really appreciated.I love Samantha Mathis. Love her in everything she does. I'm just not too sure why she was in this movie. I enjoyed seeing her, but again her character was more of a prop for JE than anything. I kept wanting more from her.This is a well done Lifetime movie. Better quality and different mood than most. A good couple of hours on a weekend.