PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

desdemc It is one of the best movies of the year. Kelly McDonald should get a nomination and the rest of the cast specially Irrfan Khan are a pleasure to watch. I wish they were more movies like that!!!

kilinkis The story is sweet and encouraging. It does a good job telling the stage where the protagonist, Agnes, is going through. A kind of boring life, dedicated to her family and religion, and she finally finds something she loves doing and that she's really good at. Great performance by the talented Kelly Macdonald.Her husband character was a strong archetype and that hurt my rating to this movie. He was not supportive to his wife and kids, he thinks cooking is a women thing, he is even a little violent, he likes fishing and wears t-shirts with the American flag. No wonder you won't like his character and automatically side for Agnes (Kelly Macdonald).Recommended and probably deserves a little better rating than it has.

dlynch843 IMO this movie decided to 'go serious', like an Independent film as opposed to a Hollywood crowd pleaser. If remade as the latter, the producers would cast a popular comedienne, & change the husband from an oppressive anachronism to a goofy husband who supports his wife, who we find out is a genius puzzle maker. As it is, Kelly MacDonald is very watchable as the sad wife, but the male chauvinistic husband is from another era. As the unhappy Agnes, MacDonald isn't always likable or understandable. She calls one of her sons a 'punk' unnecessarily, I thought. She can be as equally difficult as her husband. But as I said, she's still an interesting actress with a compelling face. She meets an attrative 'puzzle partner', a man from another culture, who falls in love with her---a better partner I can't imagine for Agnes, but her reactions (plural) to him are a little puzzling, which is a good word for this movie.

torrascotia I managed to attend the European premier of this at the opening night gala of the Edinburgh Film Festival. In the past some of the movies chosen to open the Edinburgh festival have been poor quality and chosen due to their links with Scotland. However in this case they managed to pick a movie which may just be one of the best on show this year. The story is about a mother of two who seems more of less content with her family life but on her birthday is presented with a jigsaw puzzle. Her life is so predictable she knows what her husband will say before he does. Completing this puzzle seems to give her a sense of achievement which she doesn't seem to be able to find anywhere else in her life. This sets her off on a mission to find more puzzles to complete and opens up a new life for her...possibly. The tone of the movie is somewhat offbeat, quite a few times there were members of the audience laughing at what seemed inappropriate times. You also have to suspend your disbelief for the story to work. It takes a while before you notice the movie is set in the present day. The main character is somewhat strange as well, its unclear if her quirky behaviour is supposed to be due to a sheltered life or something like Aspergers/OCD. The reason I think its like an old fashioned fairy tale, up to a point is there is a handsome rich stranger who comes into her life via her interest in puzzles, who has the potential to whisk her away from a life of domestic drudgery. Its very much a story told from a female perspective at the expense of her husbands' there is more a little bit of selfishness in the main character which to me makes her less sympathetic. Its an interesting film and worth the watch although how you respond will largely be down to whether you find this a movie about someone who is blinkered and selfish or someone escaping from a humdrum life of family responsibility. You decide.