Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

one of my absolute favorites!

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

A triumph of 2-dimensional characters, drawn with a crayon, of whom it's impossible to care about even one.From cliché tropes and dreadful TV movie dialog to the insulting racist and antisemitic stereotypes, we move from one uncomfortable, phoned in faux-motional outburst to another, punctuated by belabored death bed pronouncements croaked from said bed that seems to be all over the fantasy hospital-- its inhabitant looking on, ghostly and benign.This ham handed pro assisted suicide flyer is a small, small film, that never should have made it past broadcast television. Avoid at all costs.

I'm afraid I'm going to have to disagree with reviewers on this site, as I found this film one of the most depressing I've seen in quite awhile. I imagine the writer and director, Andrew Levitas, wanted to bring forth the messages of enjoy life while you can and be open with family and friends, and while there is some poignancy near the end of the movie, I just found the road to get there a slow and torturous one.The characters and dialog came across to me as wooden and stilted, like they were just saying their lines but I never got a sense of really knowing them. Additionally, it seemed like the cast occasionally would come out with an ad-lib or "inside joke" where they all laughed, but when I spot this in a film it really annoys me.The story, often told in flashbacks, revolves around the rich matriarch of the family, Robert Weinstein (Richard Jenkins) wanting to have his doctor (Terrence Howard) help him in an assisted suicide. Robert has managed to stay alive 12 years , after getting an initial prognosis that he would be dead in 6 months. However, now he's tired of all the debilitating procedures that he has endured and wants to end it all.So his estranged son Jonathan (Garrett Hedlund) is returning to New York, although still filled with anger and resentment, to join his mother Rachel (Anne Archer) and sister Karen (Jessica Brown Findlay) at the hospital. Thus, the bulk of the movie centers on the family dynamics playing out in a 24 hour period, which to me, as mentioned were filled with morose, depressive, and melodramatic scenes.There's a side story here, where Jonathan befriends 17-year-old Meredith at the hospital, who is terminally ill with bone cancer. Levitas makes sure we know that all the kids in the cancer ward will never enjoy the life of those who aren't ill.Amy Adams is advertised as a star of the film, but her screen time is limited. She always "lights up the screen" with her charisma, but her character here is half-baked and underdeveloped. I thought it was an affront to the viewer to list her as one of the main attractions here.I don't mean to sound curmudgeonly or mean-spirited here, but unless a viewer is undergoing similar personal themes in their lives and can relate that way, I would not regard this movie as entertainment, but more of an exercise in melancholia, the way it is presented.

Andrew Levitas makes his screen writing and directing debut in this little film LULLABY and for a first time effort, despite all the rough unfinished edges of the canvas, he gives notice of a man with a fairly keen perception of the complex interrelationships of dysfunctional families.Jonathan Lowenstein (Garrett Hedlund) lives in Los Angeles attempting to become a singer of note and has been estranged from his wealthy New York family for years, always feeling as though he was unable to live up to his father's expectations. One day, he suddenly receives word that his terminally ill father Robert Lowenstein (Richard Jenkins) wishes to be taken off life support after a 12 year struggle with lung cancer and has 36 hours to live. When he agrees to visit his father, he unintentionally sets up a family conflict with no easy resolution. His mother (Annie Archer) has been caretaker of Robert and is happy to have the family reunited: Karen (Jessica Brown Findlay), the younger sister in law school, struggles with resentment for Jonathan, Jonathan detests the fact that he must observe the dying wishes of Robert (including setting up Seder when Jonathan has a history of disregarding his Jewish heritage), cope with Karen's acerbic flairs, deal with a stranger Meredith (Jessica Barden) who is 17 years old and dying of bone cancer who shares her needs with Jonathan and he with her, and re-encountering his lost love Emily (Amy Adams). Some of the best moments are provided by Jennifer Hudson as the potty mouth bitchy nurse, Terence Howard as the attending physician who is to aids Robert's 'assisted suicide', and Daniel Sunjata as a policeman who joins in the Seder. Though there are funny moments the story hangs on the subject of death and end of life situations, sharing the manner in which we evaluate our lives and our purposes in this life at that transformative moment of death of a loved one. Though falling frequently into the overplayed anger/grief/sobbing triad the actors are very fine and they make the film worth watching. Grady Harp, July 14

This is a truly beautiful and deeply moving film. While it may sound a bit depressing, it's anything but. It's funny fresh and completely life affirming. The performances are flawless and Garrett Hedlund and Richard Jenkins are magnificent. Jessica Brown Findlay, Anne Archer and Jessica Barden are also wonderful. Jennifer Hudson has never been better.The music and feel of the film is fresh and really satisfying.It made me want to call everyone I hold close and tell them exactly how much I appreciate them and love them.Life is short. See it!!