If it hadn’t been for the cheap ending, I would have given this movie five stars.

The story and the acting was spot on. I did think they could have done a better job tieing the main plot and the subplot together, but I could deal with that. They made you care about the characters and their state of being. They built you up and built you up, and then you get to the end and then…

Nothing.

The ending to the molester sub-plot was interesting, but the end to the affair was a deus ex machina if I ever saw one. If they were intending it to be symbolic they did a very bad job of it. Falling off a skateboard knocks you out of an affair? Okay. Whatever.

Wow! EXCELLENT movie. One of the best movies I have seen in a long time. Even though this is a drama, I felt as if I was on a roller coaster. The emotions from the plot and sub-plots ebb and flow like rapids. All of the characters have done things that I do not want to like them for, but it is because of those imperfect traits that I can relate to them. I usually can’t stand watching movies that have anything to do with affairs, but this one I couldn’t help get drawn into.

The characters are more like charicatures and there is a totally unnecessary sub-plot, but any movie starring Kate Winslet is worth watching.