Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Volken You can write the best scripts, pronounce their promise with great dialogues, but without direction, you will never extract lifelike realism, sensibility and made those qualities accessible in superb performance presented here.This movie has it all. One of the things I treasure the most and mind you, I know I keep repeating myself again and again - that be a great atmosphere. Atmosphere in this movie is ravishing. Locations are not overused for any other purpose but to remain the stage of this charming story.Relationship between May-Alice and Chantelle has relaxed and profound feeling about finer things of life. Shear simplicity of this approach is risky for mass audience, but for the connoisseur of finer realism, it is a pure joy. One thing is for certain: If you can't detect those virtues, you will at least fulfill your boredom early in the movie and look elsewhere. Preparation of actors is excellent from beginning toward the end. To tell you the truth, nitpicking wont do you any good here, because I really can't find anything wrong with this movie. I would simply, again and again, soak the lifelike presence of the main characters and enjoy this movie. My utmost respect goes to John Sayles for outstanding results with Passion Fish.

postmanwhoalwaysringstwice John Sayles works so independently of the Hollywood mainstream and follows his own voice so meticulously that he often leaves his fans just a little short-changed with each successive work. As brilliant a filmmaker as he remains, every one of his films has its own shortcomings that leave it in the "near-perfect" category. In a way it feels as though he purposely leaves something unnecessary in each time out. For this reason among others, Sayles' films are an acquired taste. His 1992 film "Passion Fish" struts along at a very self-assured, yet slow paced gait, much like the population of its Southern Gothic location.The main focus of the film is put on two women, one who returns to the place she left to dwell upon her current challenges and another who comes there for refuge from her troubles elsewhere. The women's paths intersect at a precarious point in their lives, leading to some very interesting results. Mary McDonnell stars as May-Alice, a feisty, soap actress forced into early retirement by a car accident. It's a challenging role and she brings a certain bravado that hasn't been shown by her previously. Alfre Woodard gives a highly nuanced performance as the nurse who has been hired to help the reluctant May-Alice.Like in many of Sayles' films, given his immense prowess as a writer, the true pleasure comes not from watching the main storyline but the local and supporting flavor chewing up scenery throughout. One such gem involves an outdoor luncheon with McDonnell's character attempting to keep her composure and a tactful face with two Southern Belle types she hates. It's moments like this that add texture to Sayles' films, but also tend to keep them loosely edited and occasionally overwrought.

David It's regularly noted that director John Sayles is a master at creating detailed characters; this film (like especially his earlier MATEWAN) proves his genius at capturing the oft-overlooked variety of American life: dialects, and the smallest (but most meaningful) moments of work, anger, tragedy, or sweetness. This skill was surely refined during his earlier years as a novelist, and - in maturity - makes his work (and this film in particular) far more human and gimmick-free than Amer-indie contemporaries like David Lynch or Jim Jarmusch.I first saw this when it was released, and was very impressed (it was the first Sayles film I'd seen), and after a much-belated second viewing, I'd say it's one of the great American films of the 90s. Sayles' feel for detail shows continually - the small, but continual bits of personal history revealed about all of the characters throughout; the intricacy of even incidental encounters (an afternoon of zydeco music, or the COOLEY HIGH reference that slips quickly between Angela Bassett and Alfre Woodard) is stunning. Evoking Robert Flaherty's LOUISIANA STORY, the boat-trip-to-Misere scene is particularly memorable, with well-deployed Cajun lore blending with very memorable cinematography (courtesy Roger Deakins, cinematographer for FARGO, KUNDUN, SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION & SID AND NANCY, among other recent classics) to create one of the most unforgettable moments of Sayles' career.As most of the primary characters are either outsiders, or are returning after long absences, the common problem of show-biz fake accents is avoided nicely - Sayles (and Deakins) manage to capture an image of rural Louisiana that is enveloping and authentic, while never forgetting the reality that accents will vary widely even in local areas. Thus the fact that many characters refuse to lay on the drawl - even as many others in the film nail the sound of rural Louisiana perfectly - only makes PASSION FISH stronger.Overall this is a tale of growth and friendship that moves with the speed and emotions of life - none of it feels fake or forced, and though slow-to-start (another strength, though only seen as one by the film's end), PASSION FISH quietly develops into something unique and great. At every moment where this could've degenerated into movie-of-the-week sap, Sayles instead elegantly and confidently steers the film into DeSica (or Woody Guthrie and Steinbeck) territory: there's not a sour note to be seen here.

bill-479 It was my turn to pick the film and I picked this one because I like John Sayles and David Strathairn movies. Lone Star, Matewan, and Limbo are some that I really liked. After the first 10 minutes, I thought it was just another chick flick. My wife was going to owe me one. I hung in there and got caught up in the story. It's a 7 but I gave it an 8 since I liked the critter scenes. (Note to continuity people: Rennie's bass turned into a catfish when he opened it up for the passion fish).