Dreaming of Joseph Lees

This movie was worth the purchase. Very engrossing, all the way to the end.

The acting by Samantha Morton was the only reason I made it to the end of the movie. She is powerful in this film; her silent struggle to resolve her responsibilities to her family, her partner and herself was extremely well done. Nevertheless, the plot line was thick and unnecessarily tense which made watching it a bit difficult while rolling my eyes through every other scene. I'm annoyed that such an obvious attempt at pulling my heart-stings was made...beyond that annoyed that I payed $2.99 to have it done.

This is the sort of film that you can watch over and over again and each time see new nuances to the characters and the plot. Samantha Morton shines as Eva, a young Englishwoman in the late 1950s whose relationship with her boyfriend, Harry (Lee Ross), is upset when her handsome cousin, Joseph Lees (Rupert Graves), returns from Italy following an accident in which he lost a leg. "Dreaming of Joseph Lees" tells the story of Eva's coming into her own as she sorts out her feelings for the two men in her life while at the same time trying to figure out who she is and what she wants her future to be. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys nuanced, character-driven stories that are well-written, well-acted, and beautifully filmed.

This film was powerfully and beautifully acted by all the actors involved. Atmospheric cinematography and a real sense of time and place and the tension is so thick it could be cut with a knife. Loved it, and just want to rewatch it again right away. Can't decide if the ambiguous ending is perfect or maddening, though...