I like Bill Forsyth films and this got good reviews so I decided to watch it. However it is quite slow, and i found it disappointing. It did not hold my attention. The plot and script lacked something. I found it less than credible. If a film is good, I never question credibility - it's not a documentary after all. But when the film is mediocre, then all sorts of things generate questions and make me think, " that would never happen". On a positive note: I thought the start was excellent. I liked that the story was being told by one of the girls. The acting was good. I suppose that it fits the Bill Forsyth criterion of being quirky and different, but it lacks the humour of films like Gregory's Girl and That Sinking Feeling.

great film, but probably the most misrepresentative ad campaign i've ever seen for a movie. this is NOT a comedy. Christine Lahti's Sylvia is NOT a one dimensional free-spirit. she is disturbed, as is the entire family. this translates perfectly from the book, as does the film's look and emotional atmosphere.as for the opinion that Sylvia is a Pied Piper, that's just wrong. she could care less if anyone follows in her path. it just so happens that her niece is seduced by virtue of what i would interpret as instinct. the family has a long history of breaking from the norm, much to its detriment. the niece is merely fulfilling her filial destiny.to say that the story presents a polemic about nonconformity shortchanges the viewer from the complexity of emotions that it evokes. there is no argument. this is just the way things turn out for these folks. and in my opinion, the ending leaves us questioning, just as it does in the book, how much control we have over destiny.

"Housekeeping" is one of the best books i've ever read, and this movie gets it absolutely perfect. Christine Lahti is brilliant; I can't imagine another actress in the role. It seems that nobody has heard of this movie, (understandable, I guess, as it's very low-key, hardly the slick product Hollywood usually churns out) but if you're in the mood for an intelligent, incisive examination of human behavior then you could do no better than to rent this.One other thing. although the box calls it "a tidy comedy", it's far from that. it's a great DRAMA, and my guess is its relative obscurity , and lack of box office success, is more the result of the studios inability to market it than anything.

A beautifully crafted work by Forsythe and team, this charachter study blends slight humor, emotional angst, and a fitting musical score. A constant in the movies' theme is that the choices dealt with by the lead characters have life-long and life-altering effects. Deeply sad and moving in spots and very open to contemplation after viewing.