Intersection (1994) Reviews

• Very enjoyable.

  magnifique19582005-05-22

  As a consummate and long-time fan of Richard Gere's, this was a 'must have' for me and the acquisition was not a disappointment. As usual, Richard gave an excellent performance, for which I am never disappointed. Sharon Stone and Lolita Davidovich were great choices for the female characters and effectively displayed the contrast between the personalities of the women. This movie contained real aspects to a person's dilemma's in relationships...from a sterile, business 'association' with his first wife to a passionate and truly loving 'real-life' affair with the woman he met in a chance encounter. The drama of the accident was well done and suspenseful. In the end, the most touching aspect was that neither woman wished to hurt the other by disclosing what they each believed to be true - both were loved and wanted. I enjoyed it very much and it is a much-watched movie in my home with all actors performing excellently. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a love story which is true to real-life.

• patience and reward

  ulmerspirit2002-12-16

  This unpopular film showcases wonderfully nuanced performances that flesh out a simple story with an interesting twist. Multiple flashbacks (or shifting timescape) delineate the story, making for a complex movie, but the patient viewer is rewarded in the end. Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, and Lolita Davidovich breathe life into the three corners of a love triangle. Stone is especially good as the calculating Sally, whose formidable personality holds together only at the fast pace of high-end social and professional success. Gere manifests the ambiguity of a man who must choose not only between women but between parts of his soul. Spirited Davidovich is very appealing as a vital woman deeply connected to fundamental contentedness and freedom. Some philosophy is in order when considering this intimate, thoughtful film. It portrays various aspects of the human condition without embodying them. For instance, Richard Gere plays a man in the grip of profound indecision, but director Mark Rydell's hand is sure and his intent clear (`Whatever you're going to do, do it!'). The movie compresses the many small but meaningful moments that make up a lifetime into a taut montage of images flashing before the viewer's eyes, evoking the close link between life, time, and death. It shows how the simplest, smallest gesture can trigger an epiphany of profound meaning as someone struggles to find clarity in their life. Best of all, the movie illustrates how, even in tragedy, everyone can come away with something positive worth clinging to, whether it's a message on an answering machine, a hurtful letter undelivered, or a plunge into the depths of peace.

• Sealed With A Kiss

  sol-kay2005-02-08

  ***SPOILERS*** Speeding along a lonely stretch of highway outside the city limits of Vancouver Canada architect Vincent Eastman, Richard Gere, reaches an intersection on the road as well as in his life as his car swerves to avoid a stalled van and goes tumbling down an embankment. Vincent's life goes flashing before his eyes as he as well as us in the audience see the events over the last few years that lead to what just happened to him. Married to his boss' daughter Vincent went far in his father-in-laws building business but his marriage to Sally, Sharon Stone,had cooled off over the years. Being estranged from Sally yet working in the same office with her made life almost impossible for Vincent to take. Knowing that Sally was living with Richard, David Selby, and having Richard spend more time with his thirteen year old daughter Meaghan, Jennifer Morrison, then he did didn't make things better for him either. Having an affair with magazine columnist Olivia Marshak, Lolita Davidovich, was also taking a toll on Vincent's life since he couldn't complain about Sally's affair with Richard which really disturbed Vincent to the point of almost being physically violent towards him. With a lot of thought and anguish Vincent painfully came to a final conclusion on what his decision on who to be with, Sally or Olivia, and puts it on paper. Out in the country as Vincent was about to mail the letter to the women who he was going to spend the rest of his life with something strangely happened to him. Like a preordained vision that was conjured up for Vincent by destiny he saw who the woman in his life was to be and knew now what to do with his life and who to spend it with. Is was then that fate unexpectedly intervened and made it all right for everyone involved, Vincent Sally & Olivia, but sadly at the expense of Vincent's life. Haunting eerie and original love story that, despite it's slow pace, will really move you like it did me and many of the reviewers on the IMDb in the end. Richard Gere is both sensitive and explosive as the emotionally drained Vincent who has to make up his mind, to keep from losing it, between Sally and Olivia but who has his decision made up for him by circumstances beyond and far out of his control. Sharon Stone gives one of her best performances ever as Sally Eastman Vincent's estranged wife. Sally in the end somewhat realizes the truth about Vincent's feelings for her but, touchingly so, keeps it to herself as well as from Olivia. And Lolita Davidovich is both sexy and caring as Vincent's lover Olivia. Who unknown to Sally knows what Vincent really felt about her after he wrote, what turned out to be, his last will and testament which Sally quietly ripped up and threw down a storm drain as the movie ended.

• Quietly thoughtful - this movie sneaks up on you

  piano-one2011-03-14

  *** WARNING - CONTAINS SPOILERS *** Like many other reviewers, I have a tough time seeing how people can rate this film poorly. It's well written, well acted, and well filmed. Some jaded, adrenaline-addicted viewers might find it slow and uneventful. But in reality, the film is emotionally complex, and it reveals itself gradually, in multiple layers, requiring patience on the part of the viewer to appreciate it fully. Much has been made of how this film is about the main character Vincent's choices. The first time I watched it, that's what I thought too - and yes, I did feel a little ripped off discovering that in the end, it doesn't really matter what his choice is. That's when I realized that this film is about much more than "just" the main character. EVERYONE in the film has choices - difficult choices - to make. There's a reason for the film's name. Vincent is the intersection point of everyone around him, and this story is about how everyone else is affected by the situation just as much as it is about Vincent himself. On the first viewing, I enjoyed the film primarily for Richard Gere's haunting, understated portrayal of an emotionally tormented, burned out man struggling to navigate his way through life so that he gets what he wants and needs without hurting the people closest to him - and becoming emotionally paralyzed when he realizes that it's impossible, leading to tragic consequences. It isn't until the last scene that the film reveals its true focus. Only then does the viewer realize that the story's preoccupation with Vincent - even the accident itself, playing out in slow-motion over the course of the film - is nothing but a clever distraction, designed to divert the viewer's attention so that the final scene is even more unexpected and powerful. Stone and Davidovich both turn in brilliant performances, and their confrontation absolutely crackles with emotional tension. It took a second viewing for me to fully appreciate the depth of their performances, and see everything that leads up to that final moment. Because in the end, that's what really made this film work for me. It's not about Vincent, because his choice is rendered tragically pointless. He is merely the catalyst. The film's true focus is on the choices of Vincent's wife and mistress, and what they decide to take away from their relationships with him. The film's suspense doesn't come from Vincent's fate; it comes from knowing that Sally and Olivia both have the power to hurt each other deeply, and wondering whether or not they will choose to use that power.

• I don't understand the negative reviews

  A.N.2006-01-10

  I thought this film was quite good, not slow or dull by any means. It's as solid and entertaining as most "top rated" modern films of similar genre. Maybe a bit too subtle for some people? There seems to be a problem with shortening attention spans. There is a well controlled air of the unknown through the whole thing. The rain-soaked scenery is compelling, the acting is realistic and the final sequence is powerfully done. You never quite know what's going to happen, which to me makes a good film. Did it get bad press before it was even released? I think people sometimes go in with a bias that has no explanation. Theaters themselves can spoil movies by way of unruly viewers and other distractions. Just going to the wrong place on the wrong night can give a movie a bad rep. Get a big screen TV or projector and tune all that out.