Empire Falls

WOW!
This review refers to "Empire Falls" DVD edition (HBO Films)..

Well, let me just repeat my title of this review...WOW! What a superb mini-series this was. I don't have cable,and never had the opportunity to view this one. So when I found this at my local video store and saw the cast, I figured it had to be worth a try. Other times, I have bought a film solely on the promise of a great ensemble, but have on occasion been disappointed(anyone remember "Dr T. and the Women?, yeah I thought not!). This one though, has the stars shining brightly, and a story that will hypnotize you from first frame to last. It stars Ed Harris, and here's the rest...Paul Newman,who will make you smile in every frame he is in, Joanne Woodward(I only wish those two would have had some screen time together), Philip Seymour Hoffman, Helen Hunt, Robin Wright Penn, Aidan Quinn,Theresa Russell,Dennis Farina, William Fitchtner and Estelle Parsons...WOW! I would also make mention of the younger stars Lou...

One of 2005's Best Films
I've always been pretty pleased with most of what HBO's movies and Empire Falls is no exception. Though it starts off slow the superb acting just draws you in and I enjoyed every minute of it. If you enjoy any HBO movies than you will love Empire Falls.

Empire Falls is a small town set in New England where life is simple and everyone knows everybody. But for Miles Roby, a man who has been working in the same grill for most of his life, there's something missing. He feels that Mrs. Whiting who owns the grill has it in for him and he doesn't seen anything extraordinary happening in his life. He's been through a divorce and his ex-wife Janine is about to get remarried something his daughter Tick doesn't want to happen at all. Miles also has to put up with his senile father Max who thinks everyone has it in for him.

Miles frequently has flashback of his childhood when his mother was still alive and he tries to remember Charlie Mayne who he hates but he can't really...

Perfect in every way.
This HBO adaptation had four things going for it that almost guaranteed its success before a single camera began rolling.

The first was the fact that it was based upon Richard Russo's award-winning book of the same name. The second was that Russo himself wrote the adapted screenplay. The third was the incredible, all-star cast; and the fourth was that it was an HBO production. Each of these elements contributes to a mini-series now available on DVD and one that is not to be missed.

Let's start with the story. No one, absolutely no one, captures small town America the way Richard Russo does. Unlike some writers whose only real acquaintance with this setting seems to be either a brief glimpse from the Interstate or, worse, some other Hollywood writer's impression, Russo writes as though he actually spent years in the former mill towns, sitting at the diner, the tavern, or the doughnut shop soaking in the lost dreams and dead-end futures that haunt many of the...

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