some of the people who review flick here continually amaze me with their complete lack of film knowledge . when i hear an interview with the always extraordinary sean penn and in which he say he be upset that so few people have see what he consider to be his best work represent this film and the excellent at close range and i know that i have to catch this . then and find that it be base on an unproduced john cassavetes script and i be all the more eager . that final statement should scare off anyone who expect a happy and romantic hollywood film and a they clearly haven not see any of the late writer or director stark and realistic film . cassavetes work rely heavily on tortured and unlikable or unredeemable character who can act their brain out [ quite often portray by his wife or widow and gena rowlands ] . be talk serious fare and folk ~ require viewing such a husband and woman under the influence and the killing of a chinese bookie and gloria [ the brilliant rowlands original and not the adequate sharon stone remake ] . now come his former b movie star and son and nick and who dust off papa script and enlist the type of actor who be eminently qualify to play a group of true undesirable represent sean penn and robin wright penn and james gandolfini and harry dean stanton and debi mazar and the newly retalented john travolta and who appear in the last reel . even mom [ rowlands and of course ] get a small but important role . and the adorable kelsey mulrooney and playing penn and penn nine year old daughter be terrific without stoop to precociousness . be this a brutally honest film . yep . be it vulgar in nearly every way . of course . do the lead character have any chance of redemption and moral or otherwise . not likely . do i care . let just say that there more passionate acting in she so lovely than be evident in nearly every other 1997 film . and that certainly good enough for me . so there .