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Just perfect...

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Jennifer Aniston is perfect. Movie, just about. Great job.

Despite a daring performance from Jennifer Aniston (though ultimately one-note) the movie fails to take off. It's the screenplay. It's the unrelenting darkness and pessimism. Maybe fewer hallucinations and more flashbacks to happier times would have helped.

If you have every known someone who was badly injured in an accident or lost someone, you will probably relate to the subject matter of this film. Someone close to me was badly injured in a car accident, and I remember how difficult it could be to watch her deal with severe depression, physical pain, and humiliation throughout her recovery process. There were times when I just wanted her to pretend to be getting better because it could be so draining to watch her cry, curse, shut down, and think about death and blame. Jennifer Aniston does a very good job portraying all these different aspects of the recovery process. There's the physical pain, the abusive language towards others - even the ones who care for her, and the blame and self-harm. Some might describe her as a "bitch" but pay attention and think about things from her perspective.As a fan of Six Feet Under, I enjoyed the hallucinations of the suicide victim and the dark humor in those scenes. I also enjoyed the development of a friendship with the suicide victim's husband. It felt well-paced and believable. Most of all, I liked the friendship between Claire and her maid. The subject matter may be a bit depressing for some, but if you enjoy a good character study and are even the slightest bit interested in the perspective of a person dealing with severe trauma, I would recommend this film. It might even help you deal with a similar situation or that of a loved one.

I had mixed feelings about this film. First the good: I enjoyed the thoughtful attempt to explore issues of pain, tragedy and suicide. I enjoyed many of the performance, including Anna Kendrick as Nina's ghost. I thought Jennifer Aniston's performance was reasonably good, but certainly not worth all of the hand-ringing claims of Oscar snub. It was simply not so great as to be at the level of the greatest actresses. The less good: i didn't believe most of the relationships, much of the dialogue. the dark comedy elements, in my opinion, interfered with the serious drama going on. There were snapshots of authenticity that were powerful and meaningful, but the incongruous setting made the whole thing not gel very well for me. In short, despite my interest in these themes, I did not enjoy much of the film because of the writing/and or directing.