totally predictable plot (although the final few frames were nicely done), unbelievably banal dialog capped by McDormand's soliloquy to her son -- how such a great actress agreed to deliver such tripe is beyond me -- this movie just fails. I can't understand the favorable reviews.<br /><br />Opera fans will understand if I say that the plot is less creative, more believable, and more boring than "Cosi Fan Tutte," and without the Mozart music there is really no reason at all to sit through this flic.<br /><br />And what's with the supposed-to-be-sexy shots of the Alex character who makes love and goes skinny-dipping without removing her top? What great auteur figured that one out? Supposed to show the prudishness of the character who tells her lover "f*** me!"? Va savoir...