So am I the only person who thinks that Truly Madly Deeply is unutterably sad?
Yeah, it's funny in a quirky sort of way, but that almost makes it worse.
Maloney's character might be just a tad too endearing, but his performance ranks very high on the all time list for Most Efficient Use of Screen Time. ("And the Vicar she calls Daddy.")
All the characters, especially the minor ones, are very nicely outlined with a minimum of fuss. The little dead guy ("Was it moving? Births are so moving") and Maura ("Si! Drogs!") and Bill Paterson as Nina's boss are particularly fun.
And I agree with Ebert, who says that this film finally answers the most important question of all: Why would the dead ever return? Why, to watch movies, of course.
But right behind that quirkiness is a pretty painful tale. The arc from the joyous rendition of "Sun Ain't Gonna Shine" to the translation of that terribly tragic little Spanish poem gets more difficult to watch every year, I swear. And I don't know how many more times I'm going to be able to watch Rickman's face at the end, with his friends comforting him as they all wave "Goodbye!" just like Maloney's students.
(sniff)
