Two Weeks (2006)

Director:

Steve Stockman

Writer:

Steve Stockman (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

What are the moments that define your life?

Plot:

In this bittersweet comedy, four adult siblings gather at their dying mother's house in North Carolina for what they expect to be a quick...

Plot Keywords:

Dinner | Machine Gun | Arrest | Cremation | Grief

Cast

Sally Field	...	Anita Bergman
Ben Chaplin	...	Keith Bergman
Thomas Cavanagh	...	Barry Bergman
Julianne Nicholson	...	Emily Bergman
Glenn Howerton	...	Matthew Bergman
Clea DuVall	...	Katrina
James Murtaugh	...	Jim Cranston
Michael Hyatt	...	Carol
Susan Misner	...	Sherry
Jenny O'Hara	...	Julia
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lauren Aboulafia	...	Flight Attendant (as Lauren Ellman)
Holly Allen	...	Customer Service Rep
John Will Clay	...	National Guardsman
John Owen Delevante	...	John Owen Bergman
Alan Dysert	...	Bank President - Mr. Thomas
Lori Beth Edgeman	...	Suzanne
MoonPie Eller	...	Jessica Bergman
Neva Howell	...	Store Clerk
Amy Hubbard	...	Becky Straight
Jeffrey Reagan Johnson	...	Ben Bergman
Terrence E. McNally	...	Gerald Corwin
Layne Sasser	...	Sylvia
Anna Grace Smith	...	Sarah Bergman
Ken Thompson	...	Rabbi

MPAA:

Rated R for language, including some sexual references.

Runtime:

USA:102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

New Zealand:M | Singapore:PG | USA:R | Finland:K-11

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Custom Productions

Trivia:

Wil Wheaton read for the part of Keith Bergman.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the sons are looking at family photos, Barry selects one to show Keith. In this scene, he is holding one 4x6 print in his right hand as we look at him. The next scene that shows the photo shows that he is holding a fanfold of several photos and they're in his left hand.

Death as an Exodus and an Epiphany

TWO WEEKS may put a lot of viewers off as it deals confrontationally with the issues of death and dying and yet finds the very human humor that always serves as a relief sidebar in stories (and life incidents) such as this. Steve Stockman wrote, directed and produced this little film and his inspiration and efforts are well served by a fine ensemble cast. It is a story about dying and the effects the finality of that event have on a family that has dispersed in different directions life.

Anita Bergman (a phenomenally effective Sally Field) is under hospice care as she faces her last days of dying from gastrointestinal cancer. Knowing that she has little time left she calls upon her four children to return home to North Carolina for goodbyes. Her children are a mixed lot: Keith (Ben Chaplin) is a Zen-influenced California man who has decided to video his mother for posterity; Barry (Thomas Cavanagh) is a workaholic who attempts to piece together time for this inconvenient disruption in his work routine; Matthew (Glenn Howerton) is the baby of the family dominated by a tactless wife whom the rest of the family detest; Emily (a luminous Julianne Nicholson) is the sole sister who has collected all the books on the dying process for her brothers' education and is the stalwart one who holds the family together. Anita divorced the children's father and remarried a quiet man Jim (James Murtaugh) who is essentially ignored or tolerated by the children. Anita shares memories, both tender and hilarious, about her life with her family, and as the hospice nurse Carol (Michael Hyatt) tenderly leads the children through the instructions regarding final care, the four bond again, become more accepting of their disparate directions, share some very funny conversations to relieve the gloom of the event, and interact more than they have since childhood. By the time of the inevitable event come each of the children and their current father have found vulnerabilities and expanded the tokens of love left to them by Anita, now able to carry out Anita's wishes with a modicum of grace and a lot of warmth.

Using the last two weeks of life as a platform for coming together provides the film ample opportunity to address many issues - marriage, children, family, religion, and individuality. The film is balanced by the superb performance of Sally Field on the one end and the wholly realized characterization by Julianne Nicholson on the other end. In many ways it is the continuity between the lives of these two women that make the story memorable. There are some fine lessons to be heard in this film, and the telling of the story is very satisfying to watch. Grady Harp