What a waste of my time!!!

Excellent, a Must See

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

As another reviewer said--either you love it or you hate it. I loved it. A well acted movie--somewhat far fetched in the storyline. Very intense deep story and you really get caught up in it. I do not think a lot of the comments from other reviewers really see the value of the movie, or look at it from all of the character's points or motives. William Hurt as Barret is totally selfless in his quest for a family and Madeline Stowe as his wife is also very convincing. The big surprise comes from Blythe Danner, although I really cannot figure out exactly what her role was--is she secretly in love with Hurt? Hard to say. But the acting is fine and Kenneth Branaugh does a terrific and convincing job. He is a good actor and this role suits him splendidly. I do recommend this movie.

I ran across this film whilst flipping channels one rainy afternoon and found the storyline to be surprisingly engaging. I was glued to the couch waiting to see how it would play out and how such flawed characters could find redemption. I felt the casting was good and Madeline Stowe's character in particular was easy to relate to. As for William Hurt, such a somber and sympathetic character could be compared to the likes of Heathcliffe...so full of longing and unfulfilled dreams. While I am not always fond of movies that have a narrator, I felt that Kenneth Branaugh's voice and character added weight to the tale and only increased my interest in the movie as more was exposed about his involvement in the lives of the "Barrett family". The storyline contained plenty of interesting twists and turns, and was not altogether predictable (as many movies are today). Definitely worthwhile and a lovely depiction of love, charity and forgiveness.

How can you hate a movie that has Kenneth Branagh, as a Catholic priest, who has given in to the weakness of the flesh, saying, "I began to know God thru Elenore...it was she who taught me about faith." Or Kenneth Branagh saying to William Hurt, "You know you needen't feel guilty about this, THE SUN SHINES HERE TOO."(italics, mine) All kidding aside, the cast could have sleepwalked thru this somewhat cliched drama of a wealthy, staid older millionaire, resorting to having a jerk impegnate his beautiful young wife to keep the family line going, having the jerk end up dead, and the beautiful wife meets a charming local priest,,,and then...you know ..and so forth. Get the idea? But what saves the movie, are the acting "chops" of this steller cast: Branagh, William Hurt, the beauteous Madeline Stowe, and Blythe Danner. You can see they're not taking this film lightly. Branagh gets better with every film. He will surely inherit Olivier's mantle very soon. William Hurt definitely has acting greatness in him. His career seems to be on hold. He should be doing big, serious films. Madeline Stowe's beauty is so far above the average anorexic, thong, Barbie Doll, MTV sexpot, as to make them the jokes they have become. She doesn't weigh 27 lbs., AND she can really act. Where is her presence in major filmaking? Blythe Danner works steadily on Broadway and surely deserves an award for a lifetime of top level acting, on the stage, and in the movie house. All in all I enjoyed this film and recommend it to fans of the above great performers. If you like movies based on Dad's boss making him take in the boss's chimp for the weekend, just when the hated insufferable in-laws are coming for a barbeque, and the kids decide to dress up the chimp as Ben Laden, and the fox terrier next door tries to mate with the chimp and start a REAL family, even if the local DA says chimp /terrier unions are heretical to the basic man/women setup, and... and. If you like that kind of movie, "The Proposition" is not for you.

I've seen him in few things, but all that I have seen him in has been good. This includes "Hamlet," in which he was brilliant. That showed that he can take Shakespeare and make it his own. This movie was no Shakespeare, but I was drawn into each character, wanting to know what was going to happen to them each second of the movie. As someone else said, there was a visual appeal also, but they failed to see the beauty in the characters' many flaws, especially Kenneth's character. I failed to see any plot holes, but I could be blind to them, and I was moved by it's message which you may figure out for yourself. If you don't like Kenneth Branagh, this movie and "Hamlet" might just change your mind.