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Highly Overrated But Still Good

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

At the time of this movies release, Julie Roberts was flying high thanks to "Steel Magnolias" in 1989 and the mega hit "Pretty Woman" in 1990. Sadly dying Young misses the mark by a long way.Plot in A Paragraph: Hilary O'Neil (Julia Roberts) has little luck in work or love. After recently Leaving her boyfriend when she caught him cheating, Hilary finds herself living with her eccentric mother (Ellen Burstyn). One day, Hilary answers an ad in a newspaper for a nurse to Victor Geddes (Campbell Scott) a well-educated, rich, and shy 28 year-old who is dying due to leukemia. Despite his father's protests, Victor hires Hilary to be his live-in caretaker while he undergoes a traumatic course of chemotherapy.This movie is a dull and dreary affair that attempts to manipulate the viewers emotions at every turn. The direction is awkward, and it's easy to see why director by Joel Schumacher did not make any more movies like this. If you like Roberts, watch it once, and make up your own mind.

This film might have been better had it tried harder at showing a man fighting heart and soul to beat his cancer. Instead all I got out of it was some whinny self-pitying boob. Julia Roberts plays the part of a woman hired to be a nurse maid to Campbell Scott (as Victor Geddes)as he goes through the agony of blood cancer treatments. Victor Geddes comes from a well to do family with lots of money, and it struck me as strange that the father that hired Julia would not want to find a professional nurse instead of some blue-collar street girl. In any case Victor's cancer goes into remission and then they of course fall in love and head off into the woods. It has all the clichés of any cheesy love story.....Victor's cancer comes back of course and their love is tested but they are strong and he will fight the cancer and win.This film has 3 parts: 1) Man has cancer--lost in self pity--meets cute blond chick with no knowledge of being a nurse.2) Mans cancer goes into remission---man and cute blond chick fall in love---run away to the ocean.3) Cancer comes back---love is tested---end of story.

To put it simply, the opening third of this film is intense. Quite intense. Campbell Scott's Vincent is a tortured young man who only wants to live enough to prepare himself for death. Julia Roberts' Hillary is essentially her Vivian from Pretty Woman (I hope everyone who sees this film is as unimpressed as I was with the shameless allusion to Pretty Woman when Hillary steps off the bus in -- gasp -- a red suit), but it suits the film well. But the passionate acting from Roberts, yes, but mostly Scott absolutely rends one's heart. When Hillary declares that she thought "this guy was going to die," the audience is right there with her. Scott's performance is so rare and so special during these opening minutes because he is not self-pitying. He is aware of his disease, and he's trying to fight it. He's beyond emotional pain, and as he struggles through the physical pain, we start to feel it too. By the time Victor announces that his treatment is finished and he's ready for a vacation, the audience is ready for one too--it's really too much to watch a character we're instantly so attracted to come so close to death so many times.However, with the change of scenery comes a change of momentum. This is not surprising considering how emotional the opening third of the movie is--I'm not sure any movie could sustain that degree of intensity for the length of a feature film. Sadly though, the couple's time in the beach house becomes, as one critic put it, a kind of music video which features long shots of "endearing" moments between the two main characters. I would have liked to see more *real* discussions, interactions, etc. between the two than the endless close-ups of their pretty faces. The townsfolk are superfluous--essentially they're stock characters, cut-outs of real people that serve no real purpose in the film. Vincent D'Onofrio's Gordon is the most confusing character of all. He seems to have some sort of flirtation with Hillary, but this is never developed, explained, or resolved. A shame, as it could have added more drama to a section of the film that was sorely lacking in any sort of dramatic effect.The ending of the movie isn't bad, but it never quite recovers the momentum of the earlier section. However, I find that no matter how much I dislike the middle part of the film, I keep thinking about the film as a whole, and really really liking it. If you're prone to it, this film will probably make you cry. If you're not interested in tears, it's still worth watching because at the very least it will make you appreciate how lucky you are to not be going through what Vincent goes through--not having to make the decisions or sacrifices he makes each day.I recommend watching it at least once and forming your own opinion.

and when this film first came out I avoided seeing it because most people said it was silly, another star vehicle for Roberts, etc. But it really isn't. It is a good story made better by decent acting which should never be under-estimated.While Roberts was still in her early stages. Often cast as quirky, offbeat characters, after the success of "Pretty Woman". She adds depth to the character of Hillary, a visiting nurse who ends up falling for her patient; well-portrayed by Campbell Scott.Roberts manages to be touching, and also comedic, without using cheap old standby tactics to make the audience like her- (When I think of this, I am thinking of Goldie Hawn, same quirky smile; or Jennifer Aniston-same gestures again and again to the point where it is formulaic and unbelievable.And the audience realizes they are being manipulated.) Roberts is the sympathetic character, Scott the arrogant well-to-do patient, embittered and dying of cancer.There is also a small cameo role with Colleen Dewhurst, and the ending is not trite and predictable. There are some beautiful scenes of the Northern California coastline. You will enjoy this film. 9/10.