Aaron Eckhart is Burke. He has written a book after his wife died in an unfortunate car accident 3 years earlier. The book has led to wildly popular seminars where men and women come to spend a week in workshops to help them overcome their own personal losses and move on with their lives. "You can't move forward as long as you are still looking in the rear-view mirror." And as the story is told there is a company working to seal the deal to have Burke DVDs out and a daily one-hour TV show, I suppose along the lines of Dr Phil.
But Burke his hurting. The seminar this week is in Seattle, and he didn't want to go back to Seattle. That is where his wife died, and where hi in-laws live. He has helped many, but he has not been able to deal with his own grief.
That is where Jennifer Aniston as Eloise Chandler comes in. She is a single, local florist who provides flowers for the hotel where Burke is staying and holding the seminars. When he first notices her, and approaches her she doesn't speak but tells him something in sign language, which he doesn't understand, and she shrugs and goes off. But the next day he sees her again, at the desk conversing with the clerk, and he dresses her down, for fooling him, for choosing to push away a stranger rather than risk an human interaction. All that sets the stage for the next 90 minutes of off and on interactions between the two. She spots his issue quickly and makes him confront it, even when he doesn't want to.
Dan Fogler is very good as Lane, his friend and manager who sets up workshops, acts as the Emcee, deals with outside interests, and tries to keep Burke on track and on time.
The story gets quirky at times but I continually found the Burke and Eloise characters believable. Good movie.
MAJOR SPOILERS: Burke tells people, and describes in his book, how his wife died, she was driving, a dog came into the road at night, the street was wet, she swerved to avoid the dog and slid into a tree, killing her instantly. But all that was a lie, he was driving, they were arguing over paint colors, and as he eventually tells, "I killed my wife." He was never able to forgive himself, but after he did, and made amends with his in-laws, was able to begin to move on.
But Burke his hurting. The seminar this week is in Seattle, and he didn't want to go back to Seattle. That is where his wife died, and where hi in-laws live. He has helped many, but he has not been able to deal with his own grief.
That is where Jennifer Aniston as Eloise Chandler comes in. She is a single, local florist who provides flowers for the hotel where Burke is staying and holding the seminars. When he first notices her, and approaches her she doesn't speak but tells him something in sign language, which he doesn't understand, and she shrugs and goes off. But the next day he sees her again, at the desk conversing with the clerk, and he dresses her down, for fooling him, for choosing to push away a stranger rather than risk an human interaction. All that sets the stage for the next 90 minutes of off and on interactions between the two. She spots his issue quickly and makes him confront it, even when he doesn't want to.
Dan Fogler is very good as Lane, his friend and manager who sets up workshops, acts as the Emcee, deals with outside interests, and tries to keep Burke on track and on time.
The story gets quirky at times but I continually found the Burke and Eloise characters believable. Good movie.
MAJOR SPOILERS: Burke tells people, and describes in his book, how his wife died, she was driving, a dog came into the road at night, the street was wet, she swerved to avoid the dog and slid into a tree, killing her instantly. But all that was a lie, he was driving, they were arguing over paint colors, and as he eventually tells, "I killed my wife." He was never able to forgive himself, but after he did, and made amends with his in-laws, was able to begin to move on.