Minghella's movie is stern and lucid for the most part and immensely enlivened by the presence of Zellweger and Hoffman who bring amusement to their roles.

Excellent but upsetting, only for older teens.

If the love story is asked to carry more weight than it can bare, at least this is a film of rich measure and ambition.

This unconvincing "timelessness" is the film's weakest aspect. The work takes the form of a series of disconnected and discrete episodes, without essential inner connection, and becomes somewhat tedious as a result.