No, she’s buying an apartment with her long-time boy friend Jeremy (Adam Scott). He’s a cardiologist, the apartment is in the most exclusive building in town, and as the film opens Anna has interpreted certain signs to mean that Jeremy is going to propose to her. When he doesn’t, Anna decides she’s going to propose to him. After all, her grandmother proposed to her grandfather and that worked out. Of course, she was able to do it because they were Irish, and on the emerald isle, women can do so according to tradition every four years on Leap Day. With Jeremy off to Ireland for a medical convention, she decides she will follow him there and propose.  Obvious, things go wrong. Horrible weather reroutes all planes and she ends up on the wrong side of Ireland. Desperate, she hires the only car in the small town in which she ends up stranded to get her to Dublin. Enter handsome, but surly, Declan (Matthew Goode). He’s a man down on marriage, but in desperate need of cash to save his business. So, he takes the job, and off they go. As you might imagine, things do not work out as planned.

This is a wonder film for a number of reasons. First off, the chemistry between Adams and Goode is a joy to behold. They are a delightful couple to watch. Not smoldering, in the Pitt/Jolie sense, but more Gable/Colbert ala "It Happened One Night," (which considering that was the first picture to win all five major Oscars in not exactly an insult).  Adams is not one of these robotically perfect actresses. She’s attractive, certainly--but it’s her winning smile and vulnerable eyes, as well as the devastating effects to which she can put them which make her so desirable. As for Goode, he likewise to a good-looking enough chap, but it’s the intensity of his eyes and the masterfully casual way he can manipulate silence with them that will continue to take him far.

The third major star in this picture is Ireland itself. This is no backlot production, to be certain. As their trip moves them through the countryside, you can hear the Irish tourism cash registers waiting for all the couples who will simply have to find their way there after viewing not merely the lush and brooding hills and valleys, but after viewing it through the lens of cinematographer Newton Thomas Seigel. The never-ending stone walls and the thousand shades of green he uses to build his vision for the audience are wonderfully used, but there’s more. It is the way he avoids excessive arrays of color, concentrating on the bold nature available to him at every corner that creates an illusion of silence which is positively breath-taking.

The sound track is interesting, adequate at best. Costuming, sets, all the rest are fine enough, and of no major importance. No, this one is about making the story work. Of course you know how it’s going to turn out. What will keep you interested is the how of it. How will they come together? How will all the obstacles between them be overcome? How will these two people so obviously suited for each other get around the impediments and get down to finally giving us that kiss for which the audience is waiting?

Like I said, a great date movie. Take anyone you like. If grandma needs to get out of the house, take her. The language is clean, the smut and sex and fart jokes have been packed away. This movie, pure and simple, is a delight, and well worth your time and money. But only if you like solid story-telling, well done whimsy, and a chance to shed a tear while still smiling.

Our final word: 5 stars out of 5.

That has changed with the making of "Daybreakers." At last, the idea of vampires has been taken where it would have to go if such creatures existed. And, let me assure you right now, the results are, quite possibly, one of the finest sci-fi horror films ever made. 

Of course, the government and business are working hand-in-hand to find either a cure or a blood substitute. The leading researcher in this field is Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), a vampire scientist with a conscience. Forcibly turned by his own brother Frank ( Michael Dorman ), he refuses to drink human blood. He struggles along on pig blood, desperate to find a way to save what few actual human beings still exist.  His chance comes when he accidentally meets a small group of humans on the run. Learning to trust one another, one of them, Audrey ( Claudia Karvan ) leads him to a startling medical breakthrough discovered by former vampire Elvis Cormac ( Willem DaFoe ). The only problem with this discovery is that there are far too many powerful people like vampire godfather Charles Bromley ( Sam Neill )  who don’t want to see this breakthrough get to the general population. Suddenly, Edward finds himself marked for extermination by everyone he once thought he could trust.

I know the above seems like a lot of description but, trust me, what you’ve been told here is the barest beginnings of this truly remarkable movie. This is a totally unique experience. Amazingly, the filmmakers evoke understanding and even pity from the audience for the vampires, without any of the moronic nonsense of recent films attempting to do so.  Sadly, the only other critic I had the time to speak with after the screening did not understand what he had seen in the least. His attitude was the standard spiel that Hollywood only makes movies for fourteen year olds, that everything is geared for a comic book mentality, et cetera.

Okay, yes, the film has action sequences, and it has gore. But, they are not the point of the film. "Daybreakers" is an indictment of society, of the necessary hypocrisy that runs through the civilized world in ever-growing waves simply to allow us to continue to exist. It brings a focus on the homeless, and on those who, through no fault of their own, are losing their jobs, their homes, and their lives, all around us. No one knows where the money went, we all just know it’s gone, and we don’t have it anymore, and that the sheriff is coming to put us out in the street.  This is no typical horror film, but it is a solid piece of filmmaking. The soundtrack is one of the most highly evocative in years. The special effects are perfectly executed. The make-up effects created by WETA Workshop are among their best to date. The locations were intelligently chosen and innovative, the sets complimentary to their exteriors. Costuming was a cut above the norm. Not only do different styles subtly differentiate between different levels of social strata, but the clever touch of men wearing hats confuses the audience until they realize, "Oh yeah, hats keep sunlight off your head."

Before I forget, the cast is superb. Hawke is joined by Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill, all three of them turning in their best performances in years. This is a complete and utter success. It is the finest blending of horror and science fiction in decades. The story here is going to get under people’s skin and make them itch about not only what they saw on the screen, but what they see around them in every day life. It is, most definitely, going to make people think.

And that, above all else, is the finest goal of art.

Our final word: 5 stars out of 5.