The Colours Blogathon – Purple Violets (2007)

This is the 5th of 7 reviews for Catherine of Thoughts All Sorts –  The Colours Blogathon.

Tnx for letting me participate!

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“There are no second acts.” – Michael

Number of Times Seen – 2 (12 Aug 2008 and 6 Sep 2017)

Brief Synopsis – A struggling writer in a mediocre marriage meets her ex-boyfriend from college which changes her outlook on everything in life.

My Take on it – Edward Burns has always been a very talented writer and director IMHO and after having seen most of his work, this film is high among my favorites.

The story presented here is a simple on ethat most peopl can relate to because it deals with past, presnet and future relationships.

We aren’t banged over the head with the feeling that the characters need to end up together and as they slowly reveal themselves to each other, we also get to undrestand them and their actions much better.

The core characters played by Patrick Wilson, Selma Blair, Ed Burns and Debra Messing are all superbly created because they all seem like people any of us could meet and become friends with and this helps make things feel even more realistic in everything they say and do.

The themes touched upon here dealing with regrets over past decisions along with the feelings of wanting to make amends in some way for those choices works really well.

This film is part of a genre that has been too sugar coated lately and instead of getting heartwarming relationship films like this, they churn out rom-coms that are extremely predictable.

It’s really unfortunate that this film (and most of Burns’ work in general) are sorely overlooked because he really knows how to tell such great stories.

The characters are so easy to care for here and we want them all to succeed in everything they do as they try to move on with their lives.

Having reaffirmed my thoughts of how great a film this is, it will now be on my top ten list for 2007 and will be at #6.

Bottom Line – Burns does an amazing job with this story that he himself wrote. The characters all feel perfectly fleshed out and realistic in everything they do.  The core cast is superbly chosen and they all make us believe that something like this could (or perhaps did) happen. The themes dealing with regret for the past along with the urge to make amends for past mistakes really springs forth here. Heartwarming relationship films like this are sorely missing and it’s too bad that this film (and Burns’ work in general) is mainly regrettably overlooked.  It’s so easy to care for these characters because we slowly get to know them which makes the viewer feel so comfortable with them as they try to move on with their lives.  Highly Recommended

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – “Purple Violets” became the first feature film to premiere exclusively on iTunes. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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