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Talk About It

1. Jesus connected our ability to be forgiven to our willingness to forgive others (see Matthew 6). Was this connection evident in the lives of Einar and Jean in An Unfinished Life?
   
   
2. Einar claimed the only thing he couldn't stand was someone trying to peddle his "angle on God." Have you known people who feel that way? How would you share the Gospel (if at all) with someone who is angered by "religion"?
   
   
3. In An Unfinished Life there are situations involving abusive individuals that are resolved with violence. Is violence ever acceptable? If so, under what conditions?

The Family Corner

An Unfinished Life contains frequent coarse language and several scenes of gritty violence. There is one non-explicit sex scene. The domestic violence plotline makes the film unsuitable for children.

Photos © Miramax

© Carolyn Arends 2005, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

For two years, it was nothing more than "An Unreleased Movie." But Miramax has finally released An Unfinished Life, a melodramatic film from director Lasse Haalstrom of such artful features as My Life as a Dog and What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (He's also responsible for the controversial Oscar-winner The Cider House Rules.) Starring Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, and Jennifer Lopez, this film seems to be annoying most mainstream critics, who describe it as a predictable "Hallmark card" of a movie.

The film introduces us to a farmer (Redford) recovering from alcoholism on a Wyoming ranch. He's bitter towards his daughter-in-law (Lopez) because he holds responsible the death of his son. Thus, when she returns to the ranch with her 11-year-old daughter in search of refuge from a dangerous boyfriend, his troubles go from bad to worse. The rancher's only friend is his farm hand (Freeman), who offers him perspective in this tale of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Religious press critics show the film more affection than mainstream press critics do.

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) raves, "If you pass up An Unfinished Life … you'll be missing one of 2005's best. This is a totally captivating tale of forgiveness and rebirth. … [The movie] features top-level acting all around, but with Redford outstanding. This is a career peak for him. He completely inhabits his ornery, grizzled man's-man character … . His dialogue is liberally sprinkled with profanity, so you know he'll eventually soften under Griff's openhearted and liberating presence."

Apparently, that profanity bothered Lisa Rice (Crosswalk). She objects to the film's "excessive foul language … the slow pace and some character development issues," and a scene of inappropriate sexual activity. "The theme of forgiveness in An Unfinished Life is commendable, and it's fun to see how great Robert Redford still looks, but overall, the movie ranks an 'almost.'"

Tom Neven (Plugged In) says, "An Unfinished Life is a well-written, engaging story … truly moving. … The luscious cinematography and the interaction of the two heavyweight actors Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman are also gratifying to witness."

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