This isn't great or anything, but it gets the job done well enough. Blanchett gives us some incredibly strong work early on especially, in a pretty heartbreaking scene. Giovanni Ribisy is a great lead and I'd wish he'd gotten more role likes this throughout the years, he clearly has the looks. The film manages to have a few turns in the story without getting too bogged down in its own head and while never feeling too over-the-top and still feeling sort of graceful in its execution. The whole thing does have this really quiet tone to it, when it could've easily felt overdone and overcooked. In that regard I do give it major props, not being too clichéd.

What a piece of pretentious claptrap. This is why I really, really hate European movies: they all seem to think breathless non-dialogue and ridiculous premises and big over-dramatic ambiguous endings are, you know, Art. More like Crap. Cate Blanchett was wasted and the other actors were just painful to watch. Not to mention the fact that the premise of this utter boresome snooze made no sense whatsoever. So, her husband was dead, there were drugs pushed by the big bad, she made an oopsie that killed four people, there are these Big Significant Connections between the two protagonists...what a crock. Doesn't require a suspension of disbelief but more like a total abdication of common sense. I really hope Blanchett didn't actually cut her hair for this, because it was a vain sacrifice if she did. There's a couple hours of my life I won't get back. Oh, and the half English half Italian dialogue trick was just plain tiresome. Do yourself a favor: go read a book instead. It gets a 3 for the gorgeous scenery and architecture. That's it.

This movie is ironically entitled Heaven. Phillipa(Blanchett) goes through literally Hell, through the entire movie. Perhaps the only moments of hope she has, are those alongside to Filippo (Ribisi). And it's as if she "learns" to love him back for everything he does for her throughout the movie.The movie is very slow paced. Not a lot happens, and even minutes after the first half the main plot hasn't resolved yet. This can work on either way... as a suspense-builder or make it a boring movie.The soundtrack, the scenery and the directing are amazing. It's just fitting. Blanchett as usual is perfect, but for some reason, this just doesn't strike me as a role for her. Ribisi, who speaks flawless Italian, proves he can also be the leading man. Again, like most of his characters, there is a hidden, kind of obssessive force that gets him doing things, but that's the beauty of his character here. No one knows how or why, but he falls for Blanchett's character and goes to great pains to help her. An unusual love story.

I'm only posting because the previous post is ridiculous.I'm a huge fan of Krzysztof Kieslowski's work, and I have enormous respect for Cate Blanchett and Tom Tykwer but this is a film that tries EXTREMELY hard to be something it is not. Perhaps its a reaction against his work in Run Lola Run, but the pacing in this film is ponderous without the weight to justify it.From a technical point of view it is actually quite averagely shot (especially when you consider where it's shot) and I would have personally liked to strangle the crane operator. I get the strong impression it was a modestly budgeted film.Having said all that, its very watchable if you are open to slow, deliberately 'arty' cinema. There are several scenes of real tension and emotional power, and the writing is terrific. When I saw it just now on Cable, I wasn't aware of who had written it. Now it makes sense. So enjoy if you are in the mood. It certainly sparked good lively debate in this house. :-) But it is not a 'thriller' and it's not mainstream. It's also not the best film ever made.