You can almost hear the sales pitch: if it worked with Bette Davis and Lillian Gish in 'The Whales of August', why not here with Patricia Neal and Shelley Winters? The two veteran actresses portray elderly sisters held together by a sometimes stifling routine of mutual support, but drawn apart when the more lively, outgoing Neal meets and begins dating a charming old Chinese handyman. The film meanders politely along on a surplus of quiet dignity and humor, but there isn't much about it that isn't entirely too quiet, which can be both a blessing and a drawback. Nobody suffers a dramatic heart attack or a convenient dose of Hollywood cancer, but in trying to capture the ebb and flow of everyday life the filmmakers seem to have forgotten just how mundane everyday life can be. The final scene will likely bring a lump to even the most stoic of throats, but in the end the film (unfortunately) lives up to its all-too accurate title.
Review of An Unremarkable Life
