Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her (2000)

74% of critics liked it
(19 reviews)
61% of users liked it
(4,485 ratings)

Although Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her does bear some similarities to Short Cuts and Magnolia in its setting (Southern California) and mood (modern malaise), and its multiple story format, its focus is exclusively on female characters, and it's possible to view each story on its own.… More Although Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her does bear some similarities to Short Cuts and Magnolia in its setting (Southern California) and mood (modern malaise), and its multiple story format, its focus is exclusively on female characters, and it's possible to view each story on its own. The film begins with a prologue: Police detectives are investigating the apparent suicide of a Hispanic woman (Elpidia Carillo). "This Is Dr. Keener" deals with Dr. Elaine Keener (Glenn Close), a single professional woman attempting to care for her aging and infirm mother and deal with her own loneliness. She invites Christine (Calista Flockhart), a tarot card reader, into her home to make some sense of her life. "Fantasies About Rebecca" profiles a successful bank manager (Holly Hunter) involved with a married man (Gregory Hines). When she learns that she is pregnant, he coldly advises her to take care of the "problem." Before she visits Dr. Keener to have an abortion, she impulsively has a fling with a colleague (Matt Craven). She is also confronted by a female street person in the bank's parking lot. "Someone for Rose" is about a single mother (Kathy Baker), a writer of children's books. She is attracted to a new neighbor, a dwarf (Danny Woodburn), and he catches her spying on him in his house. She's also amazed to find that her son is more sexually active than she knew -- and more than she is herself. "Good Night Lilly, Good Night Christine" details the relationship between the tarot card reader Christine and her lover, Lilly (Valeria Golino), who is critically ill with an unnamed disease. The final story, "Love Waits for Kathy," concerns two sisters, Carol (Cameron Diaz), a lovely blind woman with an active social life, and her police detective sibling, Kathy (Amy Brenneman), one of the detectives who appeared in the prologue. Kathy is attracted to the medical examiner in the suicide case, and her story ends with him taking her out on a date. In an epilogue, Dr. Keener drops in to a bar, where she meets a male character from one of the earlier stories. Debuting director Rodrigo Garcia, a noted cinematographer, is the son of writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Things You Can Tell made its debut on cable television, although it was originally intended to be a theatrical release. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 46 min.
Directed By: Rodrigo García
Written By: Rodrigo García
Genres: Drama, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 2000 Wide
On DVD: Dec 26, 2001
Studio: United Artists Films

Critic Reviews

, TIME Magazine
If the stories sometimes use Creative Writing 101 devices (like a quasi-prophetic homeless woman), the total effect is as spare and haunting as the film's arid, beautifully shot setting.
Todd McCarthy, Variety
A collection of five femme-oriented vignettes that are not intricately linked dramatically but overlap characters, this observant, emotionally acute drama is distinguished by a pronounced poetic sensibility in its writing and visual style.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
For every moment that sags, there are three or four that stand out as the kind of thing we never get to see in movies.
Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
What does it say when a picture like Rodrigo Garcia's lovingly detailed Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, which won the first-time writer-director a prize at Cannes last year, doesn't make it to theaters in this country?
Robert Pardi, TV Guide's Movie Guide
An imaginatively constructed soap-opera with a high-powered cast, this film follows several narrative threads, all involving unfulfilled Los Angeles women who find inner peace after learning there are worse things than loneliness.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Garcia excels at eliciting strong performances throughout and maintaining a consistent mood poised delicately between wry comedy and more serious contemplation of contemporary American female lives.
Chris Gore, Film Threat
I ignored the description of the movie and just went in knowing that Cameron Diaz was supposed to be amazing. I was not disappointed, in fact, I was pleasantly surprised.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...an intelligent and well-acted flick...
Alex Ramirez, Cinenganos
Aplausos de pie. Hay tanto que ver y que decir en esta serie de historias, que merece no sólo una mirada, sino varias, y dignamente ganadas...
Annlee Ellingson, Boxoffice Magazine
Unfortunately, the peaceful pacing turns out to be a bit of a drag by the halfway mark, making the movie seem longer than it actually is, and Garcia's natural lighting isn't always the most flattering.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
I can tell she doesn't eat enough.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Garcia keeps these stories provocative and moving at a fast-pace.
Jorge Avila Andrade, Moviola
Lo más fuerte del filme es la estupenda caracterización de sus actrices, quienes logran imprimirle a sus personaje la fuerza y complejidad emocional que requieren

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jim H

Five vignettes about LA women who are connected only by the film's poetic story-telling. Though the film attempts to link the five stories, it falls well short of the Altman Standard for creative interweaving. This in and of itself is not damning, but I am astounded by the… More
Five vignettes about LA women who are connected only by the film's poetic story-telling. Though the film attempts to link the five stories, it falls well short of the Altman Standard for creative interweaving. This in and of itself is not damning, but I am astounded by the skilled story construction it takes to reach the Altman Standard. This film did not astound me. In fact, strong performances by the entire cast, especially Gleen Close and Holly Hunter, keep this film from becoming a maudlin soap opera. In their stories, they are subjected to clairvoyants, one a tarot card reader, the other a homeless woman, and while their respective prophecies do little to change their lives' courses, the characters are forced to confront uncomfortable realities. Another highlight is the film's dialogue, which is poetic but fits well in these characters' mouths. Writer/director Rodrigo Garcia balances lines worthy of a literary story with the naturalness of his subject matter. Overall, there isn't a lot wrong with <i>Things You Can Tell just by Looking at Her</i>, but it fails to be truly extraordinary like the legendary director Garcia is imitating.
♥˩ƳИИ &

Amy Brenneman, Glenn Close, Calista Flockhart, Holly Hunter, Gregory Hines, Cameron Diaz, Matt Craven, Kathy Bates, Danny Woodburn, Valeria Golino, Noah Fleiss, Romma Mafia, Mika Boorem DIRECTED BY: Rodrigo Garcia This is a story roughly surrounding seven women. I can see all… More
Amy Brenneman, Glenn Close, Calista Flockhart, Holly Hunter, Gregory Hines, Cameron Diaz, Matt Craven, Kathy Bates, Danny Woodburn, Valeria Golino, Noah Fleiss, Romma Mafia, Mika Boorem DIRECTED BY: Rodrigo Garcia This is a story roughly surrounding seven women. I can see all the men fleeting as I type that, lol.. It most definitely is a chick flick, so I can see some guys cringing away. But some of you out there secretly like these movies, admit it..LOL. This movie is full of some very talented actress's, some of my favorites. I was really excited to see this movie to see how it all ladies intertwined with one another in the story. I must say I really enjoyed how they connected all the women together without them actually really knowing each other. It was definitely an interesting watch and kinda sad as well. Seeing one losing their partner to an illness, the other to his wife, and seeing the other's being so desperate to have a partner. It's obvious that this is how it is for some women. But personally I find being desperate and clingy like Glenn Close character just sad. Her character is the one I felt more sad for then any of them besides Calista Flockhart. and Holly Hunters. Holly not so much for her relationship, but for what she gave up because of the relationship she had. Great acting by all. Even the younger stars in this film. Some of the stories where more interesting then others, but still flowed with the movie in its entire very well. Worth seeing if you like chick flicks.
Megan S

I like movies where everything is connected. I really wanted to know more about how they were each connected with the woman who committed suicide.
Nicki M

Interestiing. This movie follows a few women who are all unhappy in some way. Nothing really gets resolved and there's no real ending or anyone having an epiphany over how to fix their problems. Just like real life. Sadly I could actually relate to a couple of these characters… More
Interestiing. This movie follows a few women who are all unhappy in some way. Nothing really gets resolved and there's no real ending or anyone having an epiphany over how to fix their problems. Just like real life. Sadly I could actually relate to a couple of these characters although I certainly wouldn't incriminate myself by revealing which! Cameron Diaz only has a small part in this, but is surprisingly convincing as a blind woman. Holly Hunter and Calista Flockhart are also very good.
Leigh R

Odd, yet just my thing.
Yinalí R

It was cool, but it kind of doesn't make sense...
Sunil J

A wonderful movie with really great actresses.
Leo L

This is one of my absolute favorite films!!