In Her Shoes (2005 Curtis Hanson)

Hanson is dead already - September 20, aged only 71 - Alzheimer's. His films included Lucky You (poker, Drew Barrymore), 8 Mile, Wonder Boys, L.A. Confidential, The River Wild, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Bad Influence (Lowe, Spader) and The Bedroom Window (Guttenberg), usually as screenwriter. Like Wonder Boys this is one of his best, based on prolific writer Jennifer Weiner's 2002 novel* which supplies the story - Susannah Grant (The Soloist, Catch and Release, Erin Brockovich) has reorganised it so that we don't know as much to begin with but reveal it more slowly - a good tactic.

It's very well acted by Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley MacLaine (beautifully subtle), Francine Beers (her friend), Jerry Adler (The Good Wife, The Sopranos, Manhattan Murder Mystery), Norman Lloyd (Hitch's collaborator), Candice Azzara (step mom), Richard Burgi, Mark Feuerstein (fiance), Ken Howard (father).

Diaz is always wearing her sister's shoes, finally her own; Collette ends up in her mother's. It's good.

Shot by Terry Stacey.

Elizabeth Bishop is the author of the 'Lost' poem and of course it's e.e. cummings at the end.

*She provoked an interesting controversy claiming that when men write about emotions they're taken seriously but when women do it's automatically 'chick lit'.