Shoe movie lacks sole
In Her Shoes
dir. Curtis Hanson; starring: Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette
3/5
You would be forgiven for thinking that footwear had taken over the big screen this week by the look of director Curtis Hanson’s new film, In Her Shoes. However, far from being yet another chick flick, In Her Shoes offers a more engaging approach to the predictable inferiority complex formula. When serial siren, Maggie (Diaz), finds herself, once again, without a job or a roof, she moves in with her contrastingly workaholic sister, Rose (Collette).
The pair are diametrically opposite yet inseparable until sibling rivalry is raised to new heights when Maggie lures her sister’s love interest into bed. Somewhat inevitably, the two are caught and Rose orders that her sister get out of her life, which is precisely what she does. Motherless, homeless and penniless, Maggie takes refuge with her newly-discovered grandmother, where she begins to discover herself during her work in the retirement home.
Poignancy is added to otherwise banal scenes through poetry reading, whilst the bluntness from the retirees adds tongue-incheek humour to an otherwise self-conscious tale. In Her Shoes won’t change your life, but it certainly won’t disappoint.
10th Nov 2005