This damn film still makes me cry.There are elements of it that seem schmaltzy and trite at times, but the overall power of the story never lets up. Curtis has probably what are her finest moments in this tiny, almost never-seen film debut from Amy Jones (who did "Slumber Party Massacre" the year before to get the cash to make this Labor Of).It's probably the most honest and gut-wrenching depiction of obsessional love I've seen, or maybe it's just obsession. Whatever it is, it's lacerating and not to be missed. There are times when, watching Curtis' performance, it's hard for your body not to ache at the anguish she seems to be feeling.Back to Jones' script for a second... it's full of dark, moody moments that in another film would be over-the-top and pretentious, yet work beautifully here. The photographic portrait session comes immediately to mind...an awesome scene and the two actors playing it are never shown once. The whole affair is filled with little one-offs like this, all of which are presented with a late-autumn chill.Add to the mix Amy Madigan and Bud Cort's usually fine work (and don't forget the underrated James Keach, whose seemingly at-first overly clinical readings are awkward, then completely fit the character once he's fleshed out). Oh yeah, and Ralph Jones' score is one of the most haunting and beautiful I've ever heard.Gets me every time.

Jamie Lee Curtis looked great stretched across the bed. Her Lover looked appreciative, but the sight of the microphone at the top of the screen destroyed the illusion and any positive impression of the scene. Such lack of care left the entire production lifeless. IMDB lists this movie as a thriller, perhaps because it contains no adventure, action, romance, etc. Waiting for the "thriller" payoff was futile. Without a buildup to the central relationship of the movie, one is left wondering why it occurred. Although the primary difficulty in the relationship is anticipated at length, the encounter that resulted was lacking in tension and passed much too quickly.If you are not a Jamie Lee Curtis fan you may not want to watch this.

(Possible Spoilers) ...Flicks like this, that reveal the perspective of the women who write them more than their subject. The movie is about a young woman obsessed with understanding her dead mother, to the point that when she finds a box of letters from a former married lover, decides to have an affair with a married man just to understand her mom better. This rather seemy exercise (never touching on how much damage the girl can do to the married man's wife by doing this), is portrayed almost as a spiritual quest by Jamie Lee Curtis as she sleeps with older married man Keach, who, very interestingly, is directed as an absolute bore in love with the sound of his own voice when he gets together with other male collegues. Is this how women (at least the director) view professional men? Probably only fair, given the number of movies that must irritate women by portraying them as giggling airheads. The sex scenes between Curtis and Keach are anything but sexy, strange since this is directed by a woman as a sensitive subject, that include scenes of Keach flipping Curtis over like a pancake to change positions. There really is no plot, except Curtis' increasingly obsessive behavior and hypocricy, at one point seething at Keach, "I'm not a f**k-toy" after aggressively pursuing Keach for just that. There is a very heavy-handed "symbolic" scene where Curtis imagines killing her hopelessly alcoholic father, whom she never reconciles with. She finally meets her mother's old lover by chance at the cemetery in the final minutes of the movie, a quiet, simple man, and tells him how much she loved his letters she found. He says "I just put everything I had in them." End of movie. We are given glimpses of the letters throughout, overblown, syrupy and out of context. The rest of the movie is exactly like this; the only intriguing part is how it gives us an insight to the perception and angst some women have towards men and their behavior.

After her mother dies, Jamie Lee Curtis discovers love letters from a man her mom had been having an affair with for several years and begins an affair all her own. Jamie Lee Curtis is heartbreakingly displayed at her absolute best in her first non-horror film ( not Trading Places ).Acting is also good all around and this is a very well done, very adult, motion picture. Roger Corman was shockingly the producer of this film ( his very best movie). A sad and often moving movie about how everybody longs to be loved.Also Known As: Passion Play and My Love Letters. Rating: 9 and a 1/2 out of 10. Also features the memorable tagline: Sometimes it's right, to do the wrong thing.