Robert Joyner The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Phillida Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

tmf-fota In the end Emma was already leaving,then the one night stand with the son was just "happened". She was leaving because the father was not interested in being a father again, all he seemed to want was for her to go back to school. She could see she was not going to be happy, so she made her choice, and apparently did not mind the dilemma she put the father and son into. The fact that the father and son became closer after that fact is bizarre considering they did not have a close relationship and the fact she slept with both should have made it worse and not better. And I believe the child is Wendell's as Emma comments she wanted a child after they were "legit" so she was not trying to trick anyone.

jotix100 Emma Riley, a young woman getting over a bad relationship, wants a change in her life. She decides to answer the ad for a housekeeper in New Haven. She will be working for professor Richard Goddard and his grown son, Wendell. Emma's arrival is like a ray of sunshine in this huge, but stuffy house, where the figure of the dead wife of the professor, looms large in the background.Richard takes a liking to Emma, who answers him in kindness. It's clear to see he has fallen in love with her. Wendell, on the other hand, is a young man fighting his own demons. When Emma tries to be friendly to him, he rejects her. When Richard, who is clearly in love with Emma, proposes, she is happy to accept. Wendell, who has married his girlfriend Monica in a whim, finds out he made a big mistake.Wendell, a sensitive man, writes poetry. He can't take any more rejections of his work. Emma intercedes to one of Richard's colleagues to see if he can help Wendell. When two of his poems are accepted, Wendell, who has also liked Emma, much more than he lets it be known, finally can't help but showing her how he feels about it.Richard confesses to Emma the reason for the estrangement between him and his son. It goes back when he had his wife committed to a sanatorium and her subsequent death. Since he couldn't deal with the situation, he fled to New York to the arms of his mistress, leaving behind a desolate Wendell. Emma, who can't take more of the tension in the Goddard's home, decides to leave. She prays that she becomes pregnant. We finally see Emma at her own house with a small child and the last frame in the film shows Wendell and Richard and this baby between them.Kiefer Sutherland shows he has what it takes for being a good director. He is one of the best actors around, so directing could be something he could do well, as he shows here. Evidently, this production must have had problems as it shows another man as the director, but it must have been the studio's doing to try to change Mr. Sutherland's work to whatever they thought it should have been.The principal flaw in the movie is the screen treatment. Not having read Joanna McClelland Glass' novel, one can't make an assumption of where it went wrong. Perhaps inexperience played a part in the end product. The film has the feeling of a Gothic novel set in the last century, and not in the present time.The three principals do excellent work. Holly Hunter makes Emma appear more luminous than in the written page. She is an actress that can't do a false movement. Michael Moriarty had a great career in the theater and films before concentrating on television. He makes an excellent character study of this cold man who suddenly sees salvation when he falls in love with the house keeper. Kiefer Sutherland's role is not fully developed. His character is the more uneven of the three leads, but he has great moments in which he shows what he really can do.

George Parker "Woman Wanted" tells of a domestic (Hunter) who is accepted for employment in a household consisting of a father (Moriarty) and son (Sutherland) who have deep, long held issues. With her infectious smile and delicately assertive presence, Hunter increases the wattage in the household lights and the men's hearts. Critically slammed, this character study film will likely find its narrow audience among those who can identify with the principles..the brittle, temperamental poet and the professorial elder intellectual. Hunter is always good but, IMHO, Moriarty stole this show.

Rob-210 It is a complete mystery why this gem of a movie has apparently failed to find a theatrical release and been shown first on cable TV. " Woman Wanted " has a strong cast and demonstrates again that Holly Hunter is one of the most gifted actresses around today. Coming on top of her wonderful performance in " Living Out Loud " and a great turn on stage in the off-broadway play " Impossible Marriage " it is a delight in this movie to see her combining wistful emotion with a fierce self-confidence that really makes you care what happens to the enigmatic character of Emma Riley. Emma is the " Woman Wanted " hired as a housekeeper by the Goddard father and son strongly played by Michael Moriarty and Kiefer Sutherland (who also directs the movie) and the way Hunter plays the role evokes memories of characters from earlier movies such as Miss Firecracker, Always and Once Around. She somehow manages to look a dead ringer for Carnelle in Miss Firecracker, even though that movie is over 10 years old, and totally different from the Judith the 40 something New Yorker in Living Out Loud. Perhaps this is the true meaure of a great actor." Woman Wanted " comes over a shade or two darker than the excellent book by Joanna McClelland Glass (who also wrote the screenplay) which is a shame as the movie could have done with some of the book's lighter moments to offset a sombre mood . But take nothing away from the main performers who have a good chemistry - especially Sutherland and Hunter - and the line from Sutherland about the emergency room being a good substitute for family is a classic.Above all, though, I shall remember " Woman Wanted " for the emotional power of Hunter's performance as Emma Riley and to borrow Spielberg's words she is a true " architect of character. "