There are two words that come to mind to succinctly describe the film SHE CAME TO ME…delightfully bizarre!
An opera composer Steven played by Peter Dinklage, has hit a wall in his career…writer’s block, if you will. His wife, Patricia played by Anne Hathaway is on odd duck whose talented and brilliantly gifted son Julian (Evan Ellison) is madly in love with the cleaning lady’s daughter Tereza (Harlow Jane). Steven, in the hopes of breaking his composing block, is sent out to walk the dog…direct orders from his therapist wife whose idiosyncrasies are a character study by themselves. Steven, dejectedly obliging, walks the dog right past a bar which seems to beckon him in, like a siren’s song. And singing that song is tug boat captain Katrina played by Marisa Tomei.
If you think this sounds like a Shakespearean play, you’re not far off! Once we’ve been introduced to all the characters and Steven finds a muse with Katrina, none of their lives will ever be the same and eventually they will all intersect.
This is sublimely clever! Never did I anticipate where the story was going or where it would eventually land! With Steven’s illicit and supposed one-night stand with Katrina backfiring, Tereza’s admission of guilt to her stenographer and lawyer-wanna-be step- father, and Patricia’s obsession with the Catholic religion and the convent, the story beautifully spins out of control with utmost grace and elegance.
Each of the characters have their own story to tell, but at the center of it is Steven and his opera. Never does the film get bogged down with others’ details, but still finds a way to weave these important stitches into the tapestry of the story. This is a surprising gem that had me laughing, crying, angry, and most importantly, loving who these characters became.
3 1/2 stars