Memorable, crazy movie

Admirable film.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

I managed a movie theatre when this movie came out. It only lasted a couple of weeks due to poor marketing, but the customers leaving the auditorium after the movie all had tears in their eyes. It's not a depressing movie; just so emotional you can't help but get drawn into it. Steve Martin adapted the George Elliot novel about Silas Marner to modern day in a brilliant way, and it's such a shame so few people saw this.This is my favorite movie, tied with "The Sixth Sense." It incorporates all of the elements needed for an engrossing story. If you have not seen it, please check it out. Steve Martin is usually associated with comedy, but this movie is a wonderful and touching drama with some comedy sprinkled in. It is intellectual, moving and draws you into the story like the best movies of all time. Please watch it.

Let me start by saying that I am a Steve Martin fan and anyone who questions his ability to do serious work has never seen Grand Canyon. I picked up this movie with the intent of watching it with my kids, aged 12 and 6. About 15 minutes or so into the movie, after witnessing shot-drinking, a heroin needle and two people sharing a joint, I seriously considered turning the movie off. The fact is that once past these moments, the movie does begin to work as a more heart-warming family tale. What irks me however is that I don't understand why people making a movie that kids can watch have to resort to adult imagery in some feeble attempt to generate adult interest. If one wishes to make a grown-up movie with adult images, then by all means do so, but this movie simply does not work on that level; it maintains too much of a superficial and sweet flavor to be considered as such. So, why then, if I am watching a family movie, should I be forced to lie to my children about some of the imagery they are seeing? I certainly don't want to explain to them what heroin or marijuana is and the truth is that none of these images were necessary to the telling of the story.Therein lies my biggest problem with this movie as a whole. There are simply too many small scenes and images that are forcibly interjected into the story without necessity. The baseball scene, the scene by the edge of the quarry as well as many other smaller moments almost seem randomly inserted into the movie as though after the final cut the producers felt they need 20 minutes more to fill.My kids, fortunately, asked no questions, but did ask to watch the movie again the next day (a practice they inherited from their father), so I would honestly say that the movie does function on their level and I would recommend it to any parent who doesn't feel uncomfortable by the occasional adult imagery passing before their child's eyes.

A touching and sensitive retelling of Silas Marner, A Simple Twist of Fate provides Steve Martin with the role of a lifetime. His characterization is nothing short of stunning. This finely crafted and superbly written film is backed up by strong supporting performances and masterful direction. The girls who played Mathilda were perfectly cast and absolutely stole my heart. I rank A Simple Twist of Fate right up there with Jimmy Stewart's It's a Wonderful Life and it's one of the sweetest movies I've ever seen!

"A Simple Twist of Fate" is a decent dramatic-comedy, but some good potential was missed.Steve Martin plays a quiet and lonely man who doesn't like people, and who lives for one thing only: His money collection. But one night it is stolen by one of the many Baldwin brothers, who disappears into the night. But new hope for Martin arises when a dead mother's child shows up on the doorstep (or IN the house for that matter) at Martin's; he takes her in after the frozen-to-death mother is shoveled off the driveway with a steamroller (no, no, I'm joking). But later, the town's richest man admits that the girl is his...after she is about twelve and is everything to Martin. Now Martin must fight to keep his adopted daughter. The judge says without money for college, Martin won't be able to keep the girl. So his only hope is to find the money that was stolen from him all those years ago."A Simple Twist of Fate" is a decent film, with a few laughs, but it's about a half hour too long and doesn't contain quite enough laughs. It's pretty sad when Catherine O'Hara generates more laughs in the film than Steve Martin himself.Martin does well, but there is no explanation as to some of his quick character changes. I understand the girl changes his life and turns him from a private person to a social person, but it's not a gradual change: One day he is a man who hides in his cabin all day, the next day he's a regular Joe saying "Hi" to everyone in town. Gabriel Byrne plays the real father of the girl, and he does pretty well (though it's not his most fondly remembered co-star role).Catherine O'Hara, as I said before, delivered more laughs than the hilarious Steve Martin, which makes me wonder if the director wanted to give Martin a new "look" so to speak. Unfortunately, I like the old Martin better.In the end, "A Simple Twist of Fate" is a pretty decent comedy/drama that I watch whenever it comes on TV, but I'd never buy it. Worth seeing once or twice.3/5 stars -John Ulmer