By Jae-Ha Kim
Amazon.com
July 21, 2007
When it seems inevitable that Anita (Sally Field) will succumb to cancer, her grown children return home to help prepare her funeral arrangements in the dramedy Two Weeks.
But as the film’s title implies, death isn’t as immediate as they had expected, and the four siblings are left to confront each other, as well as the memories of their childhood, as they watch (and wait for) their mother pass away.
A bittersweet comedy based more on dialogue than action, Two Weeks is a wonderful showcase for the always reliable Field. When her character is comatose during the second half of the picture, the film loses some of its impact, since Field is the strongest and most compelling cast member.
But Julianne Nicholson, who plays Anita’s daughter Emily, brings quiet strength to her role and outshines the male co-stars who play her brothers Keith (Ben Chaplin), Barry (Tom Cavanagh), and Matthew (Glenn Howerton).
A gifted actress with an expressive face, Nicholson more than holds her own in scenes with Field and gets across the pain, sadness, and desperation of a daughter about to lose her mother.
Some of the witty familial bantering between the brothers seems forced and clichéd, and the viewer is acutely aware that the actors are working hard to outdo each other.
Still, Two Weeks gets across the conflicted emotions people feel when faced with the death of a loved one.
