I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Empire Falls is a depressing town in which every resident has problems, and all but one of those problems are self-inflicted. The one exception is Joanne Woodward's crippled daughter who was run over by a car when she was a toddler. It's hard to feel sorry for anyone else in the town. Ed Harris manages a restaurant but can't get his head above water because wealthy Woodward owns everything and to cross her means ruination. So don't cross her! He can't express his feelings for his soon-to-be-ex-wife Helen Hunt, so she's going to marry someone else. Just figure your feelings out, and either fight for her or let her go—it's not that difficult! Helen Hunt is upset because her fiancé is significantly older than her, but he loves her and is great in the sack-a-roo. Get your priorities straight, Helen! Robin Wright Penn is a single mom drawn to mysterious, wealthy Philip Seymour Hoffman. Just say no and focus on your kid! Hoffman is miserable in his environment—so leave! Paul Newman is the town joke/drunk/mooch, but he wants to feel the excitement of being a young man again. Clean up your act! Alright, my frustrations have been aired out, but I don't think I've successfully steered you away from Empire Falls. It's incredibly depressing, and not in a good way. It was based off of Richard Russo's Pulitzer Prize winning novel, so I kept waiting for the redeeming factor to enter the story. The three and a half hour HBO TV movie is split into eight chapters, and in the seventh chapter, something really bad happens. You know I never give spoilers, but the thing that happens is really upsetting and unnecessary. It's random and doesn't tie in to any part of the story, serving only to shock and upset audiences (and readers) and to gain Russo the Pulitzer Prize. It's terribly obvious that's why he wrote it, a reason that's not noble and, frankly, almost angers me.There's only one good part of the entire movie: In a flashback to a young Paul Newman, Josh Lucas was cast. I've always thought Lucas and Newman looked alike, so I was very happy that Hollywood agreed with me, even only for a few minutes of a flashback. The story constantly flashes back to Ed Harris's childhood memories, and for most of the time, it's boring and not very interesting.I can't stress enough how terrible Empire Falls is. Please, please don't watch it. It's so incredibly upsetting, and for absolutely no purpose, that when it was over, I had to watch an animal documentary to comfort my mind before going to bed, for fear of nightmares. The story isn't deep or symbolic. There's no "greater good" that will make you feel better.I never give spoilers in my review, but if you're still considering watching Empire Falls, I urge you to read a spoiler. Then, if after reading it, you're still considering watching it, get your head examined.Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to some extremely upsetting content, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

Some people did some fantastic performances. Pucci's performance was so real, you could say he wasn't acting. You could swear that the actor who played the principal actually had been a principal, and a kind one. Robin Penn Wright didn't have any false notes, which is incredible inasmuch as she had to show what love is like. The fellow who played Zack Minty was near perfect--playing the kid you hated. Helen Hunt was outstanding as the middle-age woman looking for romance. Estelle Parsons played her mother so well you would think she was Helen Hunt's mother. Farina was great. Hoffman had little screen time, and yet was very touching in a way I can't describe. The only problems were with the people who put the movie together. The difference was too great between the old and new Paul Newman. The old Paul Newman was a much deeper character than the portrayal done by a young version of himself. And Joanne Woodward Newman just didn't seem mean enough to be believable. The Newman's knew how to cast everyone but themselves.

This story of the goings-on in a small Maine town does not deliver at the level one would expect given the cast, the high production values, and the Pulitzer Prize source. Though long at almost four hours, it could have benefited from being either shorter or longer. If shorter, then it could have concentrated on the Columbine-style shooting, or on Miles Roby's struggles, but not both. As it is I felt there was too much voice-over and dialog aimed at getting us up to speed with the characters and intricate plotting while the shooting and its after-effects were not dealt with in enough detail. Too often I was aware of the movie's being scripted instead of feeling I was getting to know real people. Ed Harris turned in a good performance as Miles Roby and I did have the feeling that he was a real character struggling with some deep personal problems. But Paul Newman as Miles' father Max seemed a bit buffoonish as did Dennis Farina as "The Silver Fox." Did anyone believe that Max could abscond with church monies to fund a trip to Florida accompanied by a senile priest no less? The scene with Max in the Florida bar surrounded by adoring women was quite unbelievable - he would have been just another old man among many. Not to dwell too much on this, but the scene that really bothered me was with Miles doing battle with his broken glove box. I can understand that scene was put in there to show how generally frustrated Miles was that such a small thing could be so irritating, but when he was finally able to latch the thing and leave the car I said to myself, "Please don't have that door come open." But the screenwriter could not resist going for the cheap laugh.There was too much dialog, voice-over, and text frames wanting to deliver messages on love, life, and acceptance. The metaphor of life as a river has been a bit overworked by now I think. And using the final sentence from "The Great Gatsby" more than once seemed like an attempt at borrowed glory.The one standout for me was Lou Taylor Pucci as John Voss (the poor tormented outcast). He played the part as if he were a wounded animal, which I guess he was.Altogether too much going on for me.

Its pretty obvious that the author wrote the screenplay here... given that his pontificating prose makes the transition to the film as voice-over narration. Come to think of it... I didn't see a credit for the narrator, and I didn't recognize the goofy voice either... I wonder if this guy could possibly be THAT self-indulgent.Anyway, this movie is OK. I'd say about half the scenes are good and half are bad. It's pretty inconsistent in its level of phony-ness.It is overall an interesting and engaging story, but I think it is greatly hindered by the cheap crutch of a purely evil character.Hoffman and Robin Wright Penn were both really good in the flash backs. William Fichtner struck me as the only guy who carried his weight in the modern scenes. Dennis Farina was good, but it was a one note job.The glove box and the cat were painful.I have to say, my jaw about hit the floor when a lowered newspaper revealed Josh Lucas in a cameo as a young Paul Newman... it was a brief but unbelievable scene.