In Her Shoes review

[alobear]

The latest DVD that Tesco sent me was "In Her Shoes", a film from last year that I'd heard good things about, but wasn't motivated enough to go to the cinema to see. I wasn't going to post a review, but I can't seem to stop thinking about the film, so I might as well.

On paper, it sounds incredibly trite - two sisters gain a greater understanding of one another through separate journeys of self-discovery. Chick-flick all the way. Now, I used to love these kinds of films - light, airy-fairy, gently comic with overtones of schmaltz - but I've gone off them in recent years and now don't tend to bother with them. However, I'm glad I gave this one a try, because it had that elusive quality that I so lament the lack of in most films - depth.

The characters were well-drawn, not stereotypes, and beautifully portrayed. The story had layers, and the familial revelations were handled with care and not overblown. It was intelligent, moving and entertaining all in one. And there was a lovely section involving a retired professor, who was blind and confined to bed and who discovered and helped solve the reading problem of one of the protagonists. The scene where he made her read a poem and then analyse it for him, culminating in him calling her a "smart girl" which gave her a massive grin for the whole of the next scene, was the best in the film.

Empre sums it up rather well: "A simple yet rich drama played with humour and compassion and blessed with excellent performances."

Not for everybody, but I really enjoyed it.