What makes it different from others?

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Written and directed by Scott Coffey and starring Naomi Watts in the title role, Ellie Parker is an intimate insight into the world of a struggling Hollywood actress who's own fragmented sense of identity and failing ability to achieve balance in her real life relationships causes all manner of turmoil. Shot entirely on digital video -much of it hand-held, Coffey's film wobbles, loses focus and has the look of something anyone with a basic understanding of shot sequencing could cut together. What makes the film special is Naomi Watts. After having won acclaim for her startling portrayal of 'Betty' in David Lynch's Mullholland Drive, Watts once again shows her calibre as an actress with a gutsy and committed display of raw talent. In many ways, Ellie Parker works as a perfect companion piece to Mulholland Drive as we follow Watts through awkward auditions and witness her neurotic behaviour giving way to mini emotional implosions. Watts demonstrates great courage and faith in those around her by flinging herself head first into the surreal drama while never over emphasising or losing her way with the character. The entire film is about her performance and despite things getting occasionally bogged down, Watt's 'on the edge' display is never far from compelling throughout. While it might wander around aimlessly, Ellie Parker is held aloft by Naomi Watts' distinguished performance and for that reason alone deserves to be seen.

Well, ...(I am rather hesitant to say this)....but, I suspect that this film's audience are people who are already in some way connected to the business. (Of making films, that is). (It seems to me that the humour is mainly intended for them).-0-However, I also want to stress that I did find Naomi Watts' performance outstanding!Up until now, (as far as I am concerned), Naomi Watts has been, basically, "a pretty face". (And a very pretty face it is)! ;-) But in this film she really showed that she is really and truly an *actress*! (And a very fine actress, actually)! -I was impressed!Karl Barkarson,-from Iceland

I just caught this awful movie on the Sundance Channel, and this is exactly the kind of awful, awful movies that give Sundance a bad name.What would possess the filmmakers to shoot this with a homevideo camera, not light it and generally make a mockery of the very concept of film is beyond comprehension.Why would Naomi Watts waste her time on this amateurish gibberish? Who knows? She certainly didn't do herself any good. Her acting is usually quite flimsy and without a professional movie to fall back on, she is as uninteresting as it gets.Don't waste your time.

How could anyone like this self-indulgent, over-rated, bore-fest of a film. Alright, lets start on the technical side of things & then work up to (or should i say down to) the personnel involved. OK. I get it. This is a low budget film. Thats cool. Too many of todays big budget films are diluting the quality of the movie output,year after year,all over the world,not just in Hollywood. I like low budget. Its a more exciting form of film. But this was below the quality you would expect from even the lowest of budgets. I'm not a big fan of DV & this film is the perfect example of why. The scenes are poorly lit, too poorly shot & the sound is at best awful. Surely these are the things that turn cinema into an art form. So why disregard them. Coffey should have spent more time figuring these out instead of figuring out how to get himself on screen. Terrible work all-round. Now onto watts. What was she thinking?. Tour-De-force it ain't. Its over-acting at its worst. She must have taken this role to be "cool" and "hip" but she comes out of it looking the fool and her acting capabilities must forever more be called into question. I know its supposed to be ironic. But she comes off looking desperate to be taken serious as an actor. Its just a bad performance. If i think about it anymore I'm gonna get angry.Look, i know this film has won awards, i know there are people on this site telling you how great this film is. But don't be fooled. This is a perfect case of an industry afraid of critiquing its self. Its as simple as this. This film should never have been released onto the unsuspecting public. The film industry should have had the guts to stand up and say this is not good enough. Go away and do it again. This film lowers the standard of independent films. Its a perfect example of why people refuse to support indie films. I spent my hard earned money to see this. I spent 95mins watching this. Time i could have spent with my loved ones. I got fooled by the reviews. I want my money back. I want those 95mins of my live back. Do not waste your time, money and effort to see this film. It should not be supported. 1 star out of ten is kind. It deserves less but this site doesn't allow that.