Limbo

Released 1999
Stars Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, David Strathairn, Vanessa Martinez, Kris Kristofferson, Casey Siemaszko, Leo Burmester
Directed by John Sayles

There is little doubt that the most discussed aspect of writer/director/editor John Sayles' Limbo will be the ending. Unconventional and unexpected, the conclusion will inspire outrage in some movie-goers. Others, however, will recognize that Sayles chooses a resolution that is in keeping with the tone and artistic intent of the rest of the picture. Anything else would have been a capitulation to convention and traditional storytelling.

If it's not obvious at first why this film is called Limbo, it will be by the time the proceedings have finished. The movie is about three characters trapped in an emotional paralysis from which only death will free them. They are not happy people. In their own way, each of them is deeply troubled. Joe Gastineau (David Strathairn) is an introverted, lonely man who is haunted by a past that includes a tragic fishing accident in which two of his friends died. Donna De Angelo (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) is a second-rate lounge singer whose life has consisted of a series of failed relationships. Her daughter, Noelle (Vanessa Martinez), is a disturbed teenager who entertains thoughts of suicide and self-mutilation. These three meet and interact in the town of Port Henry, Alaska, where Donna lands a gig at the local bar.

For a while, Limbo seems like it might be a slow-burning romance and tale of redemption, but, as is often the case, Sayles takes his audience in unexpected directions. As thrillers go, Limbo is a sedate film, but that's the point. It's not about vital characters striving to achieve great things; instead, it's about a trio of broken human beings who are trapped in stasis, heading for a dead-end. And, when you think about it, that's exactly what Limbo's controversial conclusion depicts.

Summary by Roger Ebert