An Unfinished Life

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An Unfinished Life

Directed by	Lasse Hallstrom
Produced by	Leslie Holleran Alan Ladd, Jr. Kelliann Ladd
Written by	Mark Spragg, Virginia Korus Spragg
Starring	Robert Redford Jennifer Lopez Morgan Freeman Josh Lucas Damian Lewis Becca Gardner
Distributed by	Miramax Films
Release date(s)	January 28, 2005
Budget	$30,000,000
IMDb profile

An Unfinished Life is a 2005 film directed by Swedish director Lasse Hallström. The film stars Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, and Morgan Freeman. It is the story of a Wyoming rancher (Redford) who must reconcile his relationship with his daughter-in-law (Lopez) and granddaughter, after they show up unexpectedly at his ranch and ask to stay with him and his disabled best friend and neighbor (Freeman).

While set in Wyoming, the movie was actually filmed in Canada. Reviews of the film have been mixed, with many critics praising the acting rapport of Redford, Lopez, and Freeman while panning the predictability of the well-trodden storyline. The aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 53% "fresh" (or positive) rating among the 127 professional critics compiled by the site. [1]

Tagline: Every secret takes on a life of its own.

[edit] Summary

Still in shock from his only son's death a decade ago, Einar (Redford) has let his ranch fall into ruin along with his marriage. It is revealed that his wife, Nelly, left him for another man and now lives in Colorado. Now, Einar spends his days caring only for his hired handyman and last trusted friend, Mitch (Freeman), who was gravely injured in an encounter with a grizzly bear. Einar intends to live out his days in this heartbroken solitude--until the very person he blames for his son's accident comes to town: his daughter-in-law Jean (Lopez). Jean actually ran away with her daughter from her cruel boyfriend, Gary, who beats her up. Suddenly, Einar's quiet life is turned upside down as anger and accusations resurface. But slowly and miraculously, 11 year-old Griff's curiosity about Western life--as well as her longing for a family and a father figure--begin to chip away at the stone that has become Einar's heart, opening up the way for unexpected connection, adventure, mercy and true reunion.

The bear who injured Mitch had killed a calf on the ranch. Describing the incident, Mitch said that he and Einar tried to take away the calf that the bear was eating and in anger it attacked him and severely injured him, as a result he is in constant pain and now needs to walk with the aid of crutches. He needs daily shots of morphine and because of Einar's guilt at being drunk and not being able to save Mitch from the bear, Einar takes it upon himself to do as much as he can for Mitch.

The bear escaped into the mountains, but returned a year later, to wander the streets of the town. The Sheriff (Lucas) orders the capture of the animal, who is then taken to the town zoo and kept in a cage for people to look at.

A storyline of the movie is a love story between Jean and the Sheriff. Although he is a genuinely good man, Griff cannot open up to him and trust him, because of her mom's past abusive relationships.

In the very pleasant scenery of countryside, they live with tensions between them. Jean made friends with another waitress from the coffee shop where she works. It is revealed in the later events of the movie that she and Einar have a lot in common--both having experienced the loss of a child--"you're not supposed to outlive your children, you have to understand that..."

As tensions continue to build, and Gary arrives in town, Einar's patience run thin. One night, after dealing with Gary, he returns home and questions Jean about the night his son died. She tells him that they flipped a coin to see who would drive--she lost. It was three in the morning, and they were both tired--she fell asleep at the wheel and flipped the car six times. Upon learning of the circumstances surrounding his sons death, Einar says that they will have to talk about her moving out, but she says she's through talking. The next morning she takes Griff with her and leaves. Griff ends up running away from her mother and back to her Grandfather. He takes her in and teaches her how to be a "real cowgirl".

The movie ends with Mitch insisting that Einar set the bear who handicapped him free, although, the plan does not go off without a hitch--landing him in the hospital. During his stay in the hospital there are signs of a relationship building between Jean and Einar. Einar invites Jean to come back and live with him and Griff. After one last confrontation with Mitch and the bear, it flees to the mountains--back to where it always should have stayed.

Gary makes one last attempt to drag Jean and Griff back "home"-this ends with Einar beating him up, and tossing him on a bus out of town.

In the final scene, Einar affectionately talks with one of his cats-who throughout the whole movie he seemed cold towards. Griff then invites the sheriff for lunch. All is well as Mitch narrates the last seconds of the movie, describing his dreams of flying above the earth...