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Best movie of this year hands down!

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I never thought of this in such a way. I can only assume this is how life truly is for a person under these circumstances. Totally unexpected. A little slow in places but I loved it. I bawled like a baby.

I am both a Martin Landau and an Ellen Burstyn fan, so I was especially looking forward to seeing them act. I expected formidable acting muscle, sparks, confrontations: things befitting their Actor's Studio origins. What instead greeted me was a Landau so frail and docile...and frightened. His character, Robert Malone, is a man who treads warily and uneasily through life. He is a single man, and we assume he has simply been unlucky in love. Burstyn is the loving, open-hearted, yet lonely, woman who sweeps into his life one Christmas and changes it forever. One thing about Landau in this film: the actor looks shockingly aged, and I'm sure this has been deliberately used by both the filmmaker and Landau himself as a sort of effect to win us over to sympathy for Malone. Yet I had no doubt that this is a consummate performance. Landau, in life, is likely vital and engaged whereas Robert Malone, as I have said, seems on the brink of terror nearly every moment of his day. (The "wakeup" sequences are especially effective conveying this.) The love story plays out in an even-handed way. Underneath this blossoming love, of course, is the shadow of mortality. There occurs--over two-thirds into the film--a dramatic event that I won't reveal or spoil, but it causes the viewer to look back over events that occurred and reflect on them...in a rewarding way. The drama is never cheap nor unjustified. I come away with satisfaction and admiration for the unexpected performances, for the tender core of the film, and for a fresh perspective on the elderly that is anything but cloying or cliché. This movie is in fact--particularly with the presence of Death hanging over events (as another character in the film)--as gripping and occasionally breathless as any thriller.

What a pleasant surprise "Lovely Still" turned out to be! The story centres around two firsts for an elderly man, played exceptionally well by Martin Landau. The flick plays out as a nice-but-ordinary love story enhanced by the work of Ellen Burstyn until near the end. Then all hell breaks loose as memory lapses and renewed recollections arise with Robert, Landau's character. This portrayal is so realistic that you are a part of the film, having the scenes imprinted on you as if you are there. I don't understand why "Lovely Still" is not listed as an important film under either Landau's nor Burstyn's listings on the IMDb listings. Young Nik Fackler did wonderful work as writer and director.For years I've watched movies and read reviews here. This is the first time I've been moved to put down praise. Bravo!

Fortunately, I saw the preview recently in Tokyo. That was great. You should see this. When you see the press conference (Q & A) after the Toronto Film Festival, you can understand that the actors (Martin Landau, Ellen Burstyn and etc) and the young director Nicholas Fackler trusted entirely each other. The actors were fascinated by Nik's talent. They realized his genius potentials into the marvelous work. I was amazed at how such a young (at age of of 23) "student" could have directed this excellent movie. Therefore, it is too bad that this movie is, so far, ignored by major studios and distributors in the US.