An Unfinished Life

Director: Lasse Hallstrom Lasse Hallstrom

Overview

Two generations of a damaged family are brought together in this emotional drama. Einar Gilkyson (Robert Redford) was a once successful rancher whose spread went to seed after he developed a serious drinking problem. Now on the wagon, Einar looks after what's left of his spread with his friend Mitch (Morgan Freeman), a one-time cowhand who never fully recovered after being mauled by a bear. Einar once had a son named Griffin, but he died in a car wreck while Griffin's wife, Jean (Jennifer Lopez), was driving; Einar never forgave her for the death, and he had never met the granddaughter she was carrying until she arrived at his doorstep 11 years later. Jean has become involved with a violent man named Gary (Damian Lewis), and seeks refuge on Einar's ranch for the safety of her daughter, Griff (Becca Gardner). Einar reluctantly takes in Jean and Griff, giving them a place to stay as Jean looks for work and tries to put her life back together. But old trouble makes its way back to town in two ways -- Gary tracks down Jean and wants to make her pay for leaving him, while the bear who attacked Mitch comes down from the mountains looking for new prey. An Unfinished Life was adapted from the novel of the same name by Mark Spragg.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/27/2021
UPC:	0191329202982
Original Release:	2005
Source:	Miramax
Language:	English
Time:	1:47:00
Sales rank:	12,815

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Robert Redford	Einar Gilkyson
Jennifer Lopez	Jean Gilkyson
Morgan Freeman	Mitch Bradley
Damian Lewis	Gary Watson
Camryn Manheim	Nina
Becca Gardner	Griff Gilkyson
Lynda Boyd	Kitty
R. Nelson Brown	Rancher Kent
Sean J. Dory	Drunk Cowboy
Rob Hayter	Deputy Bob
Josh Lucas	Sheriff Crane Curtis,Actor
P. Lynn Johnson	Shelter Supervisor
Sean Dory	Customer
Christopher Young	Composer
Ken Camroux	Doctor
Bart the Bear	The Bear
Trevor Moss	Actor
Dillard Brinson	Actor
Jason Diablo	Actor
Bryan Korenberg	Angry Couple Man
Bonnie Barton	Angry Couple Woman
Danielle Dunn-Morris	Angie
Sandra Polson	Secretary
Dale Kipling	Cook
Jill Teed	Bartender
Jayne Dancose	Nurse Phyllis
Ken Camroux-Taylor	Doctor
Natasha Wynnyk	Hospital Candy Striper,Hospital Visitor
Deborah Lurie	Composer

Technical Credits

Mark Spragg

Lasse Hallstrom	Director
Mark Spragg	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Gary Minielly	Special Effects
Leslie Holleran	Producer
Kellian Ladd	Producer,Producer
Alan Ladd Jr.	Producer
Graham King	Executive Producer,Producer
Meryl Poster	Executive Producer,Producer
Michelle Raimo Kouyate	Executive Producer,Producer
Matthew Rhodes	Executive Producer,Producer
Joe Roth	Executive Producer,Producer
Mark Rydell	Executive Producer
Bob Weinstein	Executive Producer,Executive Producer,Producer,Producer
Marty Augustine	Producer
Stephen P. Dunn	Producer
Su Armstrong	Producer
Tricia Barrett	Special Effects
Stacey Goodman	Special Effects
Michael Barryte	Sound Effects
Steve Bissinger	Sound Effects
Rick Bold	Sound Effects
Brian Chumney	Sound Effects
David A. Cohen	Sound Effects
Rudy Zasloff	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Based on a novel by Mark Spragg, this modest, unassuming little drama with a striking A-list cast slipped into theatrical release last year almost entirely unheralded, wowing neither critics nor moviegoers. Yet, An Unfinished Life’s merits were not lost on those who took a chance and discovered this well-made story of redemption and forgiveness. Robert Redford stars as a reclusive Wyoming rancher who ignores his spread and tends to his solitary employee (Morgan Freeman), who is crippled and in constant pain after being mauled by a bear that still roams the countryside. Both men are surprised by the unexpected arrival of the rancher’s daughter-in-law (Jennifer Lopez), whom the old man blames for the accidental death of his son a decade earlier. Upon learning that she and his granddaughter are trying to escape her abusive boyfriend, the rancher reluctantly offers them shelter -- and a long, slow healing process begins. Director Lasse Hallstrom (The Cider House Rules), an expert in the depiction of dysfunctional families, wisely allows his actors to define their characters with subtlety. Redford at times comes perilously close to turning his grizzled, bitter, taciturn old-timer into a caricature, but he always manages to pull back just in time. Freeman’s feisty sidekick is cut from familiar cloth, but that fine actor invests him with dignity and resolve. No less effective is Lopez, whose well-modulated performance belies her current reputation as a media-manufactured diva of limited ability. She’s capable of fine work, and that’s readily apparent here. Also worth mentioning is young newcomer Becca Gardner, who plays Lopez’s daughter beautifully and more than holds her own in scenes with old pro Redford.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

With a powerhouse cast that should have spoken to multiple demographics -- Jennifer Lopez for the hip-hop generation, Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman for their parents -- you'd think that someone would have seen An Unfinished Life. The pedigree of director Lasse Hallström should have only helped. Yet An Unfinished Life had an unfinished box office, amassing a paltry 8.5 million dollars in domestic receipts. Granted, it isn't anything we haven't seen before. An unconventional family unit -- related by blood, by marriage, and by friendship -- nurses both physical and emotional wounds in the pastoral setting of a Wyoming ranch, and there are heavy social issues aplenty, ranging from the topical (domestic abuse and alcoholism) to the timeless (guilt, blame, alienation, neglect). Yet there's something about this film that's greater than the limitations of a quick synopsis, and it's likely attributable to the names listed above. Redford and Freeman are memorable as two fiftysomethings with vastly different approaches to the person or thing that caused them pain. While Redford pathologically refuses to forgive his daughter-in-law (Lopez) for a tragic car accident more than a decade earlier, Freeman maintains an uncommonly humane outlook on the bear that mauled him, even with those physical wounds still healing. Lopez does credible work trying to remain stoical in the face of her guilt, and child actor Becca Gardner is a true find as the youngest in this emotionally broken clan. If there's any complaint about Mark and Virginia Spragg's script, based on Mark Spragg's book, it's that it focuses too intensely on pain as one of life's constants; even a secondary character, played by Camryn Manheim, is coping with the loss of a child. Yet for those in the audience who find themselves in similarly painful circumstances, this contemplative work should provide them perspective, enrichment, and comfort.

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