Who's in It: Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, Flora Cross, Max Minghella
The Basics: Gere is a religion professor who subtly controls his entire family, most notably his spelling-prodigy daughter, until the whole house comes crumbling down.
What's the Deal? First of all, how many times in your life will you be able to walk out of a multiplex saying, "Wow, that was the best movie about spelling bees, Krishnas, mental illness, kleptomania and Judaic mysticism that I've ever seen"? Probably only once. And this is it. You've got people losing their minds, talking to God, seeing visions, winning spelling competitions and dancing around in orange sheets. Every other movie out there isn't trying nearly as hard.
Movie Title Recipe: Ordinary People's cold, rich, dysfunctional people vibe + the spelling-bee moments and kid-depression elements of A Boy Named Charlie Brown + Meg Tilly getting stigmata in Agnes of God = this movie.
How It's Like The Deep End: It takes the idea of the parent-child bond, and all the weirdness that can come with it, to an extreme that most movies shy away from.
Move Over, Dakota Fanning: There's a new, spookily mature girl actor in town, and her name is Flora Cross. She spends half the movie in a spelling trance, and when she catches the Spirit of Whatever It Is Out There and begins to vibrate, it will kind of freak you out.
Who Should See It: People who think all happy endings are for the weak.