This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

Load of rubbish!!

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I really have to commend Bruce Beresford for his directing abilities because his movies (the ones I've seen so far) are always entertaining no matter what they're about. This one is no different. A very solid cast makes it enjoyable when it could have easily been just another TV movie with a bunch of unknown actors. And here lies the problem; "Silent Fall" doesn't aim high enough and doesn't realize its potential, while with its stellar cast and perhaps a plot and a twist that would actually make the viewer think, it could have been big, since the predictability of it all is almost offensive.The daughter just had to try to kill the shrink in the end just to make the viewer feel less sorry for the kid for losing his sister too. A solid, yet somehow disappointing "mystery" thriller with some nice moments and a good sense of pace. Plus it's the first movie attempt by the sexy Liv Tyler who always makes me want to be the lipstick on her upper lip.6/10

First, let's admit that we're not watching this to learn the medical characteristics of autism. The purpose of watching the film is for entertainment.That said, this film held my attention. I *DID* figure it out shortly before the end and admit that the clues were there all the way through, some pretty strong. Personally, I think that's what makes a good mystery, that it *CAN* be figured out.Performances: I always enjoy Richard Dreyfuss' work. While he has done better, he didn't disappoint me. John Lithgow was completely believable as always. The real star, though, was Ben Faulkner as Tim, the autistic boy. Ignoring the voice dubbing for the adults (part of the script), he did a wonderful job in a part that had to be difficult at best. I find it strange that this is the only acting job he held. Hopefully, it's because he decided that he wanted to be a kid rather than an actor. Hollywood's loss.

This interesting psychological drama has a compelling first half, thanks to a solid cast (although Linda Hamilton and John Lithgow are wasted in worthless supporting roles) and handsome production. But the explanations become cliched in the second half, and the movie chooses the most predictable resolution available. It's such an obvious finale that (Warning:SPOILER) two of the characters discuss it and consider it in the first five minutes, so we, the viewers, expect something MUCH more unexpected and bizarre to happen at the end. This has its satisfying moments as a low-key drama (and Liv Tyler is astonishingly beautiful), but falls short as a whodunit. (**)

Okay, it will never make it into my list of masterpieces, maybe it won't even make it in the "really good movies", but stay assured you'll have a pretty good time watching this, provided that you accept the slaughtering of realism for the sake of a good-conceived story. Right, authistic people are not like Tim. And right, miss Tyler is much more beautiful than good-acting. But the story is interesting, entertaining at times, and thanks to its lack of realism in dealing with authism, can reach a "happy" ending without resorting to any Deus Ex Machina. And that, in today's US thrillers, is really a lot.