A Map of the World

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A Map of the World ★★ 1999 (R)

Excellent cast; tough story, based on the novel by Jane Hamilton. Flinty would-be farm wife/mom Alice Goodwin (Weaver) hasn't endeared herself to her Wisconsin community. But she's a good deal more vulnerable than anyone suspects as Alice finds her life falling apart. Her neighbor Theresa's (Moore) daughter accidentally drowns while in Alice's care and soon after Alice is shockingly accused of sexual abuse in her role as school nurse, which lands her jail. Uneven script is part family drama, part prison drama, part courtroom drama, part melodrama, and all the drama doesn't necessarily make for a coherent movie. 125m/C VHS, DVD . Sigourney Weaver,David Strathairn, Julianne Moore, Ron Lea, Arliss Howard, Chloe Sevigny, Louise Fletcher; D: Scott Elliott; W: Peter Hedges, Polly Platt; C: Seamus McGarvey; M: Pat Metheny. Natl. Bd. of Review ‘99: Support. Actress (Moore).