Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her (2000)

Best movie ever!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

I know that when some people go to the movies they wish to be transported to some place where reality is suspended and everything is a fantasy world or a thrill ride. However, this film is a rare gem because it captivates your attention without any special effects or strange situations. The people in this movie for better or worse are real. If you want to see a movie about real people with real connections/relationships then this is the movie for you.Each of the women in the movie seem to be seeking for some sort of human contact. Each woman has her foibles that lead to her loneliness or failure. By briefly looking into each woman's life we see what is causing her heartache...thus, we see the things we can tell just by looking at her, or rather, things we can see by looking into her life.While it has been several years since I saw this movie it has always stood out in my mind. I generally enjoy Holly Hunter and Glen Close and there performances were proficient but I did not find them to be as captivating as the Christine-Lily combo and Cameron Diaz. Calista Flockheart and her counterpart present a touching couple and perhaps the most honest and heartfelt relationship in the film. Both actresses are believable and engaging. As far as Cameron Diaz goes, she totally owns this movie as the best performance. I have lived with someone who is legally blind and Cameron Diaz truly exhibited what it is like to be blind. Additionally, none of her lines were delivered in a flat way and she captured my attention for every moment she was on screen. Normally, I do not like Ms. Diaz's work but this changed my mind and I hope that one day she will have another chance to prove her acting chops like she did in this film.

This film is very slow but never boring and that's a remarkable feat. The acting is superb and the stories are emotional but never too sentimental. Just some more or less tragic women's stories in modern-day life. Of course, there are many politically correct moves, like the lesbian couple, the black husband, the blind girl, the dwarf and the beggarwoman, but this is not really annoying. The only thing that I found a bit out of reality were the overly smart kids (i.e. Rose's son and the blind daughter). All in all, good work on women's issues by male director.

There is a lot good about this movie. The acting is exceptional by all, especially the leading women. The direction is well done. I thought the pace of the film was good. For a character-driven movie, the pace was right on, but perhaps a little slow for the MTV generation.The plot was OK, but the characters didn't have much of an arc. We got to see a slice of their lives, but we didn't see a lot of evolution in the characters. I had expected some sort of climax where we got to see an intersection in these people's lives that was more profound than the superficial interactions that we got to see.While I found it to be an OK movie, I was a little disappointed and unfulfilled. There was a potential here for a substantially better film.

Opening scene of the film sets you up to this title perfectly. A female detective looks at a dead woman with a wondering eyes.cut to title `Things you can tell just by looking at her' so much is said.yet so much is left for you to explore.indeed.as the story unfolds the title makes more sense to you.There are 5 stories. A variety of women facing different issues in their lives. You only get to see a portion of it.but you can tell by just looking at her.the rest of her story... You can feel her sorrow, her misery, her dilemma, her battling, her triumph, her set back her strengths & her weaknesses.there are just too much you ca get out of it.if you look hard enough. It's a very powerful piece of work. Wonder did the director realize it? It gives a lot of space for people to look at others life & at the same time pause to take a closer look at themselves. Interestingly, there is always a character within each story that tells the protagonist about themselves.things that they oversee.perhaps.however, you may realize such analysis of oneself is often obvious.but you need a 3rd party to vocalize it. A highly recommended piece of film. A clever use of 5 large pieces of montage (5 loose story) that binds your emotions together.