Parker-Kate

Emily Watson's performance in this film is strong, she delivers the intensity and range of emotions that we have come to expect from her. The film itself however is lacking. The narrative is predictable and rather uneventful as sans for a few scenes at the beach it takes place entirely with the four walls of their previous home. This is 3/4 drama mixed with 1/4 romance. There is no real supernatural aspects or nods to sci-fi in this film other than the fact that the child is a ghost. He doesn't look like a ghost and is able to travel outside the home etc. This is really a film about love and loss.

Currently divorced and estranged, a couple begins to fall in love again when they are reunited while clearing out their old home when their deceased 5 year old son appears and remains in the home. After seeking the advice of a psychic the husband is told that his son has unfinished business that needs resolving and that it is his job to discover just what this is and then help him move on. This of course presents a conflict of interest for him as a father because he cannot bear to lose him again. This is the gist of the film. It is slow-moving and emotionaly-chargedl.

Individual participants of all ages who are addicts are paid to be in what they believe is a show documenting their unique struggle with addiction, which it is. Whey do not know is that it will end in an intervention with friends/family. At the intervention they are offered the chance to attend an upscale in-patient rehab facility in a state other than where they live followed by the option to enter a sober-living facility for further treatment. This show is raw, transparent, gritty, as these people are at rock bottom and desperately in need of help. After all, they are in a position in which they are having to be tricked into an intervention.

I've been watching this show since its inception so it's pretty clear that I'm a fan, but from the scores it would appear that I am in the minority. The show has been on for so long, using the same format ( a.k.a tricks and setup) that it's hard for me to believe at this point that there is anyone who hasn't seen the show to fool anymore. If anyone asked me if I wanted to be in a documentary about addiction I would immediately suspect it was this show. Some episodes are more interesting than others, the deeper into their addiction they are the more interesting it is In my opinion. The episodes consist of interviews with the people who have asked the show for the intervention; family, friends, etc. There's the backstory on the addict and how they grew up, information on their past traumas and contributing factors. These interviews are conducted without the knowledge or consent of the addict. The majority of the episode consists of the film crew following the addict day to day. Obtaining and consuming their drug of choice, stumbling, staggering, fighting, sometimes even overdosing. You see not only how it affects them but also those around them. Their last "interview" is actually the intervention. They show up unaware that they will face a room full of loved ones offering them the opportunity of a lifetime, but that is not always the spirit in which it is received. Sparks generally fly as the participants feel ultimately betrayed. At the intervention they are offered the opportunity to go to an insanely upscale rehab center, followed by sober living free of charge. For those who accept the help the show ends with a 90 day follow-up at their facility. An interview as to how things are going, how they are feeling and what their future plans are.