Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000)

This film consists of several different stories that are very loosely connected to each other. I was drawn into each individual story but would have liked to have known more about them. What would have made this film really good in my opinion is if there had been a single strong story line woven through all the stories; an interconnection that would have kept the coincidence intact, but would have made it an unseparable whole. That is what I missed. I am very happy though that at the end there was a kind of closing to each of the stories, but that really deserved more time. So a good film, with interesting characters and good portrayals, but it lacked the depth and interconnection that it made me both expect and hope to find.

Fmovies: Truly the worst movie I have ever seen in my 40 years on earth. Thank god, as a female, I have never met anyone as loathsome as these characters. Ironically the only woman who had a sincere, loving, reciprocal relationship had a partner who was DYING! Avoid this like the plague.

The only recommendation for this film is the acting of Holly Hunter, and to a lesser extent that of Cameron Diaz. Otherwise, you can spend your time more enjoyably and profitably taking that time to listen to a real woman.

Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her fmovies. This film is very slow but never boring and that's a remarkable feat. The acting is superb and the stories are emotional but never too sentimental. Just some more or less tragic women's stories in modern-day life.

Of course, there are many politically correct moves, like the lesbian couple, the black husband, the blind girl, the dwarf and the beggarwoman, but this is not really annoying. The only thing that I found a bit out of reality were the overly smart kids (i.e. Rose's son and the blind daughter).

All in all, good work on women's issues by male director.

Some questions remain without a plausible answer: why did THINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER go direct to cable TV in the US? I don't know and I'm still angry about that, since it has a great cast and was very well received in Cannes. Fortunately, it was received a limited release here in Brazil, where it was a kind of art-house hit during the time of the year when only blockbusters have their place in the sun. The secret of its success here is not hard to understand: audiences who were tired of Hollywood crap found a small, quiet dramatic comedy with a good story, some heart-breaking moments (and some very funny ones, too) and terrific performances. This is the kind of film that touches everyone, even the coldest and most serious person, making them laugh and feel deep emotions. Despite its division in five stories, all of them excellent (except the part with the lesbian, which was too small), this film is carefully paced, helping us to understand each character's emotions. And each story has an interesting link to the other.

If I had to choose my favorite part, I would have to think. The Dr. Keener story is sad and quiet, the one with Rebecca is the most thought-provoking, while the dwarf story is touching and funny, and the sister-sister story brilliantly closes the film.

If you haven't seen this yet, watch it now. There are not many good films with "women" as the main subject, but this one is one of the best I've seen. It has an eye for detail, it makes us think with its reflection about what women are nowadays (I loved Cameron Diaz guessing about what made her sister's friend committing suicide). And there are great actresses which seem to fit the role perfectly: Glenn Close, Cameron Diaz, Amy Brennemann, Kathy Baker, Holly Hunter, Calista Flockhart and Valeria Golino. I hope Rodrigo Garcia, son of famed writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, makes other great films like this.

...with the other user. On the contrary, I find Things You Can Tell... to be a very intense drama. Even I, being male, could easily identify with all the characters. The title says it all, you know what these characters feel and think just by looking at them, and it's done in a very subtle and under-acted way. I must agree, though, that I, too, was surprised by Cameron Díaz; I knew all the other actresses to be first rate, but up until this movie, I'd always thought of Díaz as a dumb blonde; I'm glad she proved me wrong. I know a lot of Americans (and I'm NOT saying ALL) want big emotions, larger-than-life drama, and a lot of FX...but life isn't that way, life is like this movie: funny, touching, sad, lonely, full of love and, yes, even repressed. 10/10