Woman Wanted
Woman Wanted
R | 14 August 1999 (USA)
Woman Wanted Trailers

After the death of his wife, Richard hires a recently divorced housekeeper, Emma. Soon finding himself falling for her, his emotionally destructive son, Wendell, also grows attached to Emma, threatening to tear apart the family's already hostile relationship.

Reviews
ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.
Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
leplatypus This is the most soporific and stupid movie i have seen lately and it's a new stinker with Holly who didn't make a fine work since « the firm » ! For sure, as she plays a maid for a father and his son, you can guess at once what's the movie is about ! It's a sort of tradition that maids always fall in love for their rich and prestigious masters but i can't buy it ! I prefer to believe into their depraved habits when a son can indeed make love to his father girlfriend !! All this turpitude happens in a gloomy, austere mansion that stinks old ! This ridiculous family of crying men is badly played with Sutherland doing the adult poet kid in shorts (!) and with a poor nobody with zero talent as the father ! This one is in addition so tall that poor Holly break her neck to see him ! All along the movie, between doing chores and speaking around meals, she has nothing to do ! So it's a totally useless movie that doesn't worth any more comments !
tmf-fota In the end Emma was already leaving,then the one night stand with the son was just "happened". She was leaving because the father was not interested in being a father again, all he seemed to want was for her to go back to school. She could see she was not going to be happy, so she made her choice, and apparently did not mind the dilemma she put the father and son into. The fact that the father and son became closer after that fact is bizarre considering they did not have a close relationship and the fact she slept with both should have made it worse and not better. And I believe the child is Wendell's as Emma comments she wanted a child after they were "legit" so she was not trying to trick anyone.
kkbaizan Convincing portrayal of a dysfunctional relationship between father and son. Kiefer Sutherland plays the son Wendell Goddard who harbors a grudge against his father Richard Goddard played by Michael Moriarty for committing his mother to a mental institution before she died with an excellent performance by Holly Hunter as Emma, the housemaid who is hired to maintain the Goddard home. I personally love Kiefer's directorial way of capturing the sensuality in the characters and the environment around them in this captivating movie.
Rob-210 It is a complete mystery why this gem of a movie has apparently failed to find a theatrical release and been shown first on cable TV. " Woman Wanted " has a strong cast and demonstrates again that Holly Hunter is one of the most gifted actresses around today. Coming on top of her wonderful performance in " Living Out Loud " and a great turn on stage in the off-broadway play " Impossible Marriage " it is a delight in this movie to see her combining wistful emotion with a fierce self-confidence that really makes you care what happens to the enigmatic character of Emma Riley. Emma is the " Woman Wanted " hired as a housekeeper by the Goddard father and son strongly played by Michael Moriarty and Kiefer Sutherland (who also directs the movie) and the way Hunter plays the role evokes memories of characters from earlier movies such as Miss Firecracker, Always and Once Around. She somehow manages to look a dead ringer for Carnelle in Miss Firecracker, even though that movie is over 10 years old, and totally different from the Judith the 40 something New Yorker in Living Out Loud. Perhaps this is the true meaure of a great actor." Woman Wanted " comes over a shade or two darker than the excellent book by Joanna McClelland Glass (who also wrote the screenplay) which is a shame as the movie could have done with some of the book's lighter moments to offset a sombre mood . But take nothing away from the main performers who have a good chemistry - especially Sutherland and Hunter - and the line from Sutherland about the emergency room being a good substitute for family is a classic.Above all, though, I shall remember " Woman Wanted " for the emotional power of Hunter's performance as Emma Riley and to borrow Spielberg's words she is a true " architect of character. "