Just perfect...

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Nothing really to spoil, as there's hardly any plot to speak of. Knowing that in advance actually made it bearable to watch clear through. The title doesn't seem to fit, and my local Hollywood Video had it under Mystery & Suspense (probably because of the word "fingerprints"), with an M sticker on the spine, instead of D for Drama where it belongs. Everyone mumbles their lines, and I didn't care enough about the characters to rewind even once; for anyone still curious about this film, I recommend turning on the closed captioning, if you have the option. That said, THE MYTH OF FINGERPRINTS has 3 things going for it: (1) casting Noah Wyle and Michael Vartan as brothers; (2) the subplot with Julianne Moore's character and the book. (How could her dad *do* that to a book??); And best of all, (3) the Rufus Wainwright song near the end. By far the best thing about this movie, as it introduced me to his music!

"The Myth..." is yet another of many films about families converging on the parent's home for a holiday with all their baggage in tow, emotional and Samsonite. The film is a good shoot and offers a good cast doing good things with what they are given. Unfortunately, the audience is relegated to voyeurism with little in which to partake as the film wends it way through family matters and issues of little consequence which seem curious at best. A lukewarm watch for those into relationship films.

She is quickly becoming our countries Cate Blanchett, which I think is agood thing. This film is a terrific little postcard to dysfunctionalfamilies, well acted and beautifully filmed apparently in Maine. It'sgreat to see Roy Schieder back in action again. Haunting and painful yettotally real, this is a movie to savor. Probably not a great date film,see it with your family and cringe. I only wish that the family lookedmore like a family. If you're going to have Julianne Moore in a film,how about Eric Stolz as her brother and Carol Burnett as her mother?"Myth" is a terrific first film, I look forward to what this directordoes next. (by the way, thank heavens for the independent film channel,where I saw this. I'd never heard of it before, but caught it on thislittle station and I'm renewing my subscription!)

After all the attention this film received at Sundance, the eventual release was disappointing. The writing was unfocused. There were too many characters to portray effectively. Perhaps a small family would have served the story better. The editing was also sloppy, although that may be due to the poor writing. Scenes cut away at their apex, leaving no resolution to them and when threads picked up again, it was hardly from where they left off. Some of the emotional arcs jumped from one transition to another without explanation. Performances save the day, but not enough to recommend or make this one a keeper.