This thrilling mystery movie which has touches of horror and delves deeply into the paranormal was a quintessential "whodunit" which will keep you engaged and guessing until the very end. Cate Blanchet, the consummate actress, offers another spellbinding performance, and Hillary Swank and Keanu Reeves provide excellent supporting roles. Giovanni RibisiI adds an additional powerful and convincing performance to the story as a very disturbed young man with whom Cate, the lead character, deals with compassionately. I never cease to be amazed at Cate Blanchet's ability to portray a role with such honesty and realism that you completely forget the person she portrays is a character in a movie.

The only reason the movie was able to be action packed was because of the unbelievable and unrealistic stupidity and helplessness of the main character. She is just constantly moronic, and I can't think of a single real life female who would display such a chronic case of brainlessness. I found it shameful the way Cate's character was portrayed as being at the total mercy of men and unable to care for herself. As horrible as this is, make no mistake, this is what carries the movie. It's unfortunate that the degradation of women is used for entertainment. But I think things have changed since 2000; women in movies since have demonstrated use of their brains.

It's hard to recognize Cate Blanchett. She is completely lost within the character. I loved her portrayal of a poor Southern woman. The movie itself it quite brutal, and most of the violence is directed against women. I have never been able to classify violence against women as entertainment, and I am very concerned about people who do. For that reason, I wish I had never seen this movie. However, I sat through it because of Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi and the plot twists. I do like the ending.

This was a surprisingly entertaining movie. Cate Blanchett was excellent and Giovani Ribisi had the most interesting character (his involvement was why I elected to watch this).

Blanchett plays a woman with "gifts" who gets involved with a murder investigation. She's not all knowing and her visions come in flashes that tend to terrify her as much as offer any insight. There is some effective camera work by Sam Raimi, although there is a bit of a tendency for kind of cheap thrills (surprise off screen entrances, etc.). Then again, this film is from 2001, so my perception of that might be just an indication that it's somewhat dated. Still very entertaining and well directed.

The ending is a bit predictable, but so is every movie. I'm more interested in the cast and the emotional roller coaster along the way, and this film certainly has that. Keanu Reeves is cast in a part that's a bit of a departure for him, as is Katie Holmes. This must have been before she got married to Tom Cruise and ended up in crazy town.

Billy Bob Thorton is the writer (lots of big names involved with this), and I read this story is based on the experiences of his mother who also reportedly had psychic abilities. I thought it was refreshing how Cate Blanchett is not overly sexualized in this film (wears tennis shoes except for in one party scene). She comes across as very nurturing, and it was a nice departure from most hollywood films.

I enjoyed it, it scared my wife though.

I bought this film so that I could watch it over and over It's one of Blanchett's earlier and less known movies, but it's powerful. Some places put it in the horror category, but I would say it's more in the suspense genre. It combines the paranormal with a murder mystery and strikes all of the right tones. Blanchett heads an amazing cast with Hilary Swank, Keanu Reaves, J.K. Simmons, Greg Kinnear and Giovanni Ribisi. Movies don't usually feature that many Academy Award winners and nominees for awards. Blanchett creates a very appealing character in Annie, a mystical woman who is trying to take care of her three sons after her husband is killed. Ribisi is nothing short of amazing in the way he portrays "Buddy," the town mechanic with a deep and dark past that even Annie can't penetrate when she is distracted by a murder that rocks the community. Very engaging and entertaining to watch.

Everyone did a phenomenal job in this movie! The Southern accents were so believable! Australian-born Cate Blanchett was super convincing as a Southern fortune teller, and Keanu Reeves' character was very compelling as well; rarely have I seen him play personas that have a vile nature but that's what I liked about his role in this film; it was something different to behold compared to other characters he's played. I have to say, though, I was hoping to actually see "Donnie" get released from jail and possibly even become friends with "Annie." (Wishful thinking, I know, but I believe that would have added a nice touch of fulfillment to the movie). Ultimately, it ended on a good note, thankfully.

It will be hard to find a movie that packs so much talent into such a movie as this. While the genre is that of a supernatural thriller film, I cannot get over how terrific the cast of this movie was in their respective roles, all of them incredibly talented in their own right. The story, written by Billy Bob Thornton, is not too shabby either. I do re-watch this movie from time to time due to the great talent on display in this movie about a young widowed psychic woman (Cate Blanchett) trying to raise her small children in the South and how she becomes entangled in a local murder mystery.

Very Heavy stuff. Hard one to grade. The acting is top notch and movie is powerful and compelling but exceedingly difficult to watch/witness as it focuses on the ugliness people can inflict on each; particularly actions inflicted upon women and children related to family violence. My wife had to quit watching it. I would never watch it again but I give the producers credit for making a movie about situations that unfortunately are all too real in many families. Cate Blanchett is terrific...she is a gift to the movie