Better than its getting credit for, here, from too many. The acting is first rate by the leads, Watts and Wright -- and even the sons and the husband are quite decent. The potentially offensive story -- while it troubles the boundaries of decency (Hamlet, Aeschylus anyone?) gets a lot of help from the directing, acting and even the dialogue. It feels well written and natural, particularly in the first half of the film. The seriousness of the attempt to resist by the mothers is also more than believable. All in all --I happened to like the lead actors very much, so much that I absolutely enjoyed the movie. The plot -- well, given my own life and those of many friends, it's hardly shocking to me. What can I say! (smile) Murmur of the Heart by Louis Malle came to mind: in spite of the differences it shared some of that spirit. For 'the disgusted,' the ending suggests they will pay a price, the final shot where they are all isolated on a raft. But given the idyllic beauty of the setting and given their proven commitment to one another by the end of the story, and all the suffering they go through, they seem to have earned whatever life they will end up with.

For a lot of people it will look like perverse relationships. And they will be right. Even those mothers from the movie said so. And mothers tried hard to finish what seemed to be just an occasional piece. Apparently, love doesn’t look at the age (at least twice for this beautiful story). Everyone involved into relationships were confused and ashamed. They all knew how the life SHOULD be… and they tried… and failed

probably worth a watch, 2 mothers who grew up together find themselves in sexual activity with each others sons, a weird storyline but worth watching once

I heard of this while checking out Robin Wright's filmography after having seen her in something else. This struck me as odd considering she is American, and the rest of the film was made by Australians. But I decided to check the story and I can see that this is a May-September romance of not just one but two couples of older but still beautiful women romancing two younger men. Lil and Roz are a pair of women who have known each other since they were children, growing up they married men who each bore them a son. One became a divorcee, the other a widow as they raised their sons to become handsome men. Living on the Australian coast their sons grow up with little to no experience with the opposite sex except their mother's friend. The attraction becomes palpable as each woman claims the other young man as a lover. This goes on for a while until the fear of aging causes these women to abandon their lovers and hope they move on. Only the young men find other women and create relationships, the end becomes a terrible mess. I have seen films with an age gap between lovers before and in many cases, they are embarrassing, but acceptable perhaps because they favor older men over younger women. But when older women go along with younger men it's seen as a perversion. What drives this is that the older women fall in love with their best friend's grown son, keeping it secret and dooming their relationship with others. This felt trashy and revolting and despite some good acting with the ladies, this wasn't a good movie.

Eeeeewww it was like a category on pornhub like my 'best friend's hot mom' or my 'My friend's sexy son is finally 18'. Only with passionless sex scenes, minimal real conflict and unconvincing feelings attached to it.

2 moms watch their boys grow into "Gods" on the beach...and then they start sleeping with them. Twisted, yes. And it might even be powerful if it weren't so completely far fetched.

Intrighi amorosi e familiari non sono sufficienti a rendere degno di nota questo dramma ibrido. I dialoghi e le movenze, specialmente nella prima parte, sono terribili ed imbarazzanti; vengono in parte migliorati e coperti nel momento in cui la trama entra nel vivo. Si vede inoltre una clamorosa differenza di recitazione tra la coppia di madri rispetto ai figli.

Timeless. The tranquility, grace and beauty of the beach and sea; it felt like that played a major role. As if underscoring that love has no age. Can watch and enjoy over and over.

This is the best film I've seen during Quarantine. I loved everything about it and only noticed afterward that it was based on "The Grandmothers" by the late Nobel laureate Doris Lessing, my favorite English-language writer of the last half of the 20th century, author of dozens of novels and non-fiction memoirs, who was notoriously stingy about optioning her books to be adapted as movies. If you want to see a movie as rich, mature and sophisticated as the best literature ignore the clueless critics and vapid viewers who panned this movie and side with the two beloved actresses who starred in it, Robin Wright and Naomi Watts, who have rarely steered you wrong. And dig the two young Aussie bucks that play their sons, who will become huge international stars, if there's a God. I don't want to say anything about the plot, because it is so beautifully structured, you should have the pleasure of watching it unfold before your eyes, like the best so-called thrillers, but better. more realistic than that. If you can guess the ending after watching the first 30 minutes (and knowing no more than what I've written here) I'll eat my shoe. The title is the only misguided thing about it. They should have stuck with Lessing's. She knew what she was doing. Do yourself a favor and read a couple of dozen of her books.

Esse é, possivelmente, o maior fracasso dramático que assisti. Antes de tudo, o filme não é apenas pontos negativos. A produção, de forma geral, é boa. A fotografia é bem feita e as cores, principalmente nos momentos onde a praia é o centro das atenções, é inteiramente agradável. Porém, acredito que os elogios parem por aqui. na verdade, o roteiro/trama é tão mal feita que eu fiquei com raiva. Primeiro: o desenvolvimento dos personagens é NULO. Não sabemos quase nada sobre eles e o romance entre o "primeiro casal" é tão superficial que isso é chega a ser um desrespeito a inteligencia do público. Sabemos que eles se conhecem desde sempre - afinal, ela é a melhor amiga da mãe desde criança -, e o único esforço que o filme faz pra desenvolver algo entre eles é mostrar uma cena dos mesmos no mar, onde tudo que o personagem do Xavier Samuel sabe fazer é cara de flerte. A progressão tá longe de ser orgânica e tudo piora depois dali. Depois da ideia mais criativa dos roteiristas serem a vingança nível quinta serie [Tu "comeu" minha mãe, agora vou "comer" a sua também hur dur], temos a conversa entre as duas amigas, na qual se resume a "cruzamos a linha". Logo depois, o moleque demonstra nunca ter feito sexo na vida ao dizer a tia que a ama - meu deus, parece fanfic. A surpresa dela ao saber que o muleque que tinha ficado com ela por vingança tinha a traído, a mesma dizendo que nunca foi tão feliz - a veia só transou -, o pai adivinhando que o filho tava "namorando" só de olhar pra ele. Sem contar no show de interpretações péssimas no ato final. Velho, é tanta cisa pra falar que posso ficar escrevendo aqui a noite toda. Por fim, fica muito claro que o filme não tem NADA A DIZER, e a "obra" faz questão de jogar isso na nossa cara após um final ilógico, incongruente e forçado. O filme tem o objetivo de agradar um publico algo, e visto a bilheteria, talvez tenha conseguido, mas nada oclui o fato de ser o fracasso que foi.

Sexy but ultimately lacking in anything profound to say even after pretending it had everything to say.

Initially I hated this one. Then I put myself back in my 18 year old shoes and thought, ‘well...if given the chance...”.

This is a great film, great story, great cinematography, great acting. It’s a shame that it did so poorly in both ratings and the box office, and I think it’s simply due to people’s inability to connect with the story or see the plausibility in it all. It can be difficult to remain impartial to a concept that the world frowns upon but to me that’s what gives this movie it’s charm.

It's difficult to review this movie, because it possesses many good qualities (cinematography, good acting, beautiful score, interesting premise) but after watching it, it felt like such an utter waste of time. It leans heavily into its status as an independent, art-house film - not to the point of pretence, but definitely to the point if seeming to hide behind its artsy label rather than earn it. Themes and provoking thoughts are suggested throughout the film, but never truly explored or followed through, making the movie feel like it's indulging in its "taboo sex" plot without having to do the hard yard of truly explaining why we should be watching for any reason other than voyeurism. The characters try to seem profound but are ultimately flat, with no clearly expressed individuality or desires - they are floating along in the ocean of life and just happen to end up in this situation, it seems, without any clear context. When characters do seemingly outrageous things, there needs to be an explanation for each of them as to how they got where they are. That never really happens. Only 1 of the 4 characters involved in the weird affair, in my opinion, expresses a clear motivation to cross boundaries; love. The other 3 are just kind of 'doing it because everyone else is'. This makes the movie feel gratuitous and as though it has wasted the potential to have some really difficult conversations, about youth and belonging and parental love. The movie passes the time but ultimately that is all it does. It does not earn that time once you come out on the other end.

This movie is beautiful to watch, The ocean side setting in Australia is stunning. The actors are superb. The story is… Challenging. That's probably why so many people have given this movie a low score- they apply their own judgments and morals to the story. The thing I love about going to movies is suspending my life for a few moments and immersing myself in the storyline of someone else. That doesn't mean I have to feel comfortable the whole time. Anyway, back to this movie, the story itself may be very challenging for some, but that is what I absolutely loved about it: The questions that I walked away with and thought about afterwards. I have recommended this movie to some of my friends since it is on Netflix and everyone who watches it wants to have a big discussion about it afterwards. That, to me, is the sign of a superb movie.

The premise of the film may seem perposterous but there is a reversal of gender roles that is worth exploring. Solid performances, beautiful scenery and sexual desires will keep a lot of people captivated...

Despite excellent cinematography cast and (mostly) very good acting, the script ( or is it the directions/production?):rushes through and it feels awfully contrived and obvious after about 20 mins ... Very predictable. It like watching Hollywood do a French film and make it awkward and unnatural despite perfect cast and setting and filming. (P.s. The Dark headed son was a brick with eyes.....). Great scenery and visuals. Disappointed Overall.

This film was unwatchable.

Nice to see a movie that shows women over 50 with an active sexuality. And all the people criticizing this movie - the male equivalent has been made for years and years and years. 'Bout time we see the reverse!

Delicate, excellent actresses and actors, spontaneous and authentic