Cady's Take:

In "A Map of the World," Sigourney Weaver plays Alice Goodwin, a woman trying to make the best of her husband's (David Straitharn) mid-life decision to be a farmer. Alice has one darling daughter and one devil child who detests her. Life's a bit difficult for Alice, but pity her at your peril, she's a very strong woman.

When the daughter of her best friend (Julianne Moore) meets with a tragedy for which she feels responsible, Alice is caught in a downward spiral of depression. This is a drama that constantly ups the ante in its portrayal of how tough middle class life can become. But how much is too much? There's the abuse of a little boy. There's a father's inability to cope with two unruly girls who want their mother. There's the way a farming community closes ranks to shut out the outsiders. There's a whiff of infidelity, and a prison drama. Oh-And we can’t leave out the final court scene!

Both Weaver and Strathairn give top rate performances. Moore has a straightforward character to master, which she does well. I find it interesting that a male director, Scott Elliott, was able to provide such a female perspective. But, even with its ardent performances and genuine poignancy, A Map of The World inspired little more than a shrug from me. The film does not follow any specific genre. It goes from an almost Lifetime network death of a child film to a courtroom movie, to a prison flick.

With all my heart I wanted to love this movie. Julianne Moore and Sigourney Weaver as best friends whose relationship is tested when the unthinkable happens….how could we go wrong with “A Map of the World”? Perhaps the better question would be what was right with “A Map of the World”? This is a Lifetime movie gone bad – and I like a good Lifetime movie now and again.

I hate to give away too much plot here, but this is an entirely plot-driven movie with virtually no character development. Sigourney Weaver does the most admirable job of fleshing out her Alice Goodwin – a woman who is so devoured by remorse and self-loathing that she lacks the conviction to defend her name against slander and lies when she is accused of child abuse against a student in the school where she is nurse. Her relationships are tested with her husband, her kids, and her friends. She is shunned by a small farming community and sent to jail. Blah, blah, blah and sad, sad, sad then uplifting, uplifting, uplifting!

In a nutshell this movie is worth watching only if the cable is out and the only other movie left at the video store is “200 Cigarettes.”