Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52752 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-08-16
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Synopsis
Sarah Hopson (Valerie Edmond, THE CROW ROAD) is living the high-life in New York City. But she feels her existence is becoming too vacuous and decides to return home to the Scottish Borders. She hopes to find her childhood sweetheart, Sam, perhaps the only man she's ever truly loved. Sam's life fell apart when she left, but is married now. Does he still carry a torch for her

Customer Reviews

An inspiring film
What a wonderful film. It's not exactly the most cheery of subjects - coming home to die - but the whole premise was beautifully acted with excellent performances from the small cast.

Sarah (Edmonds) returns from New York to her home in Scotland to die of a brain tumour, and spend what little time she has left with her childhood sweetheart Sam (Butler), who has now married. Despite breaking his heart seven years earlier Sam agrees to help her with her "To Do" list, and do all the things she'd always wanted or intended to do e.g. skydiving, flying a kite etc.

This film is really about the psychological effects of living with a death sentence. How it affects the person going to die and how the others around them face up to their lives and their own mortality. It makes them take stock of the people they have become, the missed opportunities, and what is really important in their lives.

It could so easily have turned into a maukish and sickly pastiche, but instead it is a very refreshing and, dare I say, life-altering look at death. There are some very dark, comic moments, which are beautifully played out (most notably the "Funeral Arrangements" section) and leave you emotionally split between laughing and crying.

It's a well thought out, wonderfully presented film which will make you take stock of who you are, what you want and what the heck you're doing with your life.

As the saying goes "Life is not a dress rehearsal". Let's make the most of what time we do have.

I started making my "To Do" list as soon as it finished.

A beautiful and moving film
This film is a little gem. All of the primary actors do a fine job of bringing understated pathos and wit to a very tough and potentially sentimental storyline. Gerard Butler is superb as Sam, the former sweetheart of Sarah, a dying woman. Torn between his love for Sarah and his wife, he goes through an emotional rollercoaster from joy to anger and everything in between. James Cosmo is wonderful as Sarah's bewildered father, whose own regrets and dull existence are turned round by Sarah's fate.

One of Sarah's messages to her loved ones is from Dylan Thomas:
'Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.'

Superb - only fails to get 5 stars because I can't stand soft focus photography...........

Better than I expected
I essentially picked this up because I'm a Gerry Butler fan and wanted to see some of his earlier work. The real star of this film is Valerie Edmond, and I thought she did a brilliant job. I was pleased to see that Gerry himself could show some raw emotion and not just run around brandishing weapons. The other Valerie who plays the wife certainly gets the short end of the stick in this story, and I could really sympathize with her. Anyway, it's never easy to deal with death, and I think this film has done a pretty good job of tackling a subject that is taboo for most people. There's a decent enough story, a few laughs, lots of tears, some great shots of Scotland, and overall good-quality acting from everyone.