The Event

Intelligent, moving, but annoyingly self-satisfied...

Uneven yet brave and touching.

To make a movie in 2003, one that centers around AIDS but ignores the epidemic's current culprit, Africa, and toys melodramatically with scenarios steeped in the filmmakers' selfish nostalgia without any real point, is to ask us not to think at all.

The performances of Olympia Dukakis as Matt's mother and Sarah Polley as his sister elevate The Event from melodramatic claptrap to sensitive drama.

A feminine hygiene commercial is by far the best thing here. Is that last item a curious thing to say about a film with such a weighty agenda? Exactly.

Despite its impeccable acting and subtle backdrop of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, The Event lets its message overwhelm its emotion.

The superb performances by Olympia Dukakis and Don McKellar are what make this film rise above its limited but well-meaning script.

[Deals] with extremely serious themes in a frank, honest and often humorous way.

Parker Posey and Olympia Dukakis lend their talents to an AIDS suicide film - it has its moments, but the death rattle comes from the genre, not from the central character.