Originally posted by tabuno
George Clooney gave a great performance, out of character, out of control, in a rage, a spectrum of emotional shading that attracted me to his on screen presence. Because of this different performance, I was able to identify with the turmoil and emotional dilemma Kelvin faced. I was attracted to Natascha McElhone having to confront an apparently out of body experience, helpless, awkward with what was going on, living two different lives. The connection and repulsion between Clooney and McElhone, their intimate informal talks, the spontaneous conversations along with their heated, wild flaying gave rise to a natural and realistic interweaving between two beings.
I'm not saying neither of them gave bad performances--quite the contrary. I think this is Clooney's best work, and McElhone definitely has an extremely difficult task with this role, which I think she handled incredibly well and you explain quite well. However, it's the relationship that's the key to the emotional center of the film, and that's what I think is missing. The flashbacks don't give enough room for them to grow as a couple. Yes, I understand that Kelvin didn't really know his wife and in reality none of us really understand the people we meet in this world, but the fact of the matter is, I didn't get any kind of bond between them outside of their encounter as visitor and visited.

You did, I assume. Very cool.