Instant Favorite.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

So writes Wendell Goddard about his parents, in this surprising little gem of a movie.The story revolves around three characters:Emma Riley (Holly Hunter), a charming, divorced woman who's been hired as a live-in housekeeper.Richard Goddard (Michael Moriarty), the old fashioned college professor who hired her.And his aforementioned troubled son Wendell (Kiefer Southerland), an aspiring poet who spends his days locked in his room.The death of Richard's wife Marion (Elaine Pidgen) has caused a rift between the two men.Wendell writes scathing, though not inarticulate, poetry about his unhappy home life.Richard, meanwhile, shakes his head at his son's instability.The arrival of Emma in their lives only makes matters worse as they're both attracted to the lovely woman (and she to them).Though just a little movie, the acting and direction are impressive, making this sleeper one of the best stories about a love triangle that I've ever seen. And there haven't been very many.Also adding to the story is Wendell's 24 hour wife Monica (Carrie Preston), who gives it unexpected levity.The ending really makes the movie, coming to a conclusion in a way that is satisfactory as well as very positive.This is one of my favorites.I'm really impressed that Kiefer Southerland was the director.Originally, Review #125Posted On: July 8, 2011

This made-for-television film from 1999 is a domestic drama that focuses on the father-son relationship in a dysfunctional family. The father, a distinguished physics professor, runs an add for a live-in cook and cleaner. But the job description also includes healing the wounds between the father and son.Michael Moriarty, Kiefer Sutherland, and Holly Hunter are the three performers asked to tackle this challenging project. It turns out that both the father and son fall in love with the housekeeper. As the drama unfolds, there could be almost any possible outcome to this explosive situation. American playwright Eugene O'Neill wrote a brilliant play on the same subject entitled "Desire Under the Elms." "Woman Wanted" is uneven and never reaches the level of intensity of O'Neill's play. The credibility is often strained, and there is even a lapse into comedy when the young man gets married and brings his bride home, only to ask his father to arrange an annulment! But the final thirty minutes of the film are compelling. Sutherland's character evolves nicely, as does Hunter's all-too-human role of the housekeeper. There was good feeling in the performances, and although there were apparent disagreements about directorial choices, the film was shot effectively with smooth transitions and effective scoring.This may not be a great film, but it is nonetheless a thoughtful one and well above average for made-for-television films.

In the end Emma was already leaving,then the one night stand with the son was just "happened". She was leaving because the father was not interested in being a father again, all he seemed to want was for her to go back to school. She could see she was not going to be happy, so she made her choice, and apparently did not mind the dilemma she put the father and son into. The fact that the father and son became closer after that fact is bizarre considering they did not have a close relationship and the fact she slept with both should have made it worse and not better. And I believe the child is Wendell's as Emma comments she wanted a child after they were "legit" so she was not trying to trick anyone.

I was pretty surprised to find this in the video store as it seemed like it might be an obscure film. I read Kiefer Sutherland has since removed his name from the director credits, replaced by infamous Alan Smithee, and after watching this, I can see why. "Woman Wanted" is full of promise but suffers from poor emotional pacing, and poor editing. It takes a moment to sometimes realize the scene you are watching takes place some time after the previous scene, giving no indication to the amount of time passage as the characters grow to know each other. As a result, emotional developments seem awkward and at times, unmotivated, or just plain unbelievable. Holly Hunter just seemed flat the whole film through, and Kiefer Sutherland, seemly to have miscast himself, plays Wendell like he is six years old. What is with the Christopher Robin look? I think if more screen time had been allowed to show the emotional attachments develop, and better editing cues to herald the passage of time, the emotions the actors portrayed would have seemed more believable. I would love to see Kiefer to continue honing his directorial skills, but he still has some learning to do...consider this effort one of his film school kindergarten projects.