Guinevere, for which I had high hopes, is a disaster. The basic story line (young woman falls in love with older man) is not the problem. The problem is that we are supposed to accept the premise that Harper Sloan (Sarah Polley) is an insecure, naive, helpless young woman. Suspending disbelief is one thing, but swallowing this nonsense is out of the question. We are told to believe that Sarah Polley, at age 20, needs something or someone to appreciate her for what she can become. <br /><br />Sarah's character, Harper, is a beautiful, wealthy, college-educated resident of the San Francisco Bay Area. There is no way in the world she would still be this uninformed, inexperienced, and helpless. She has done well enough at college to be accepted into Harvard Law School. If we are to believe the film, she is incapable of any intelligent or creative thought or action. From what college did she graduate? Was she asleep for four years? Was she asleep for 20 years? <br /><br />The only scene with any hint of reality or intelligence was the one in which Harper's mother, played well by Jean Smart, confronts the older man. Sarah Polley is beautiful and talented; she is wasted in this turkey. [For a film in which the director utilizes the talents of a young actor, avoid Guinevere and see Natalie Portman in Anywhere but Here.]