Two Weeks is a Lifetime-styled weepy that tosses in a couple of expletives to garner an R rating. With a couple of minor tweaks, that wouldn't change the effect of the movie, and this would be PG and ready for televised consumption without requiring any cuts for content. Its length, 93 minutes, is already tailored for the small screen. If you count the videotaped framing device, it is already set for commercial breaks. All this makes me wonder if Two Weeks was a made-for-TV movie that was shoehorned into a limited big screen release when they saw the strength of Sally Field's performance, not to mention her return to the limelight following her well-received guest spots on ER and her starring role on Brothers and Sisters (a role which just won her an Emmy).
Something else I have to wonder after watching it is who was this made for? Who is the intended audience for this? It is a question that goes back to the overall Lifetime aura that surrounds the movie. Outside of that, I do not see a widespread audience for this. Those who have gone through something like this don't want to relive it on the screen, and those who haven't, by and large, would probably prefer not being put through the wringer. I have lost a family member within the past year and I was able to identify with some of the situations, if not the characters.
Two Weeks centers on Anita (Sally Field), who is dying of cancer. As the movie opens, and the title indicates, she is in the final two weeks of her life. Her four grown children have descended on the home she shares with her second husband. As the kids arrive, they bicker among themselves over her care and her wishes, as well as opening up a dialogue between themselves which sheds light on their interactions with each other.
The movie plays towards the melodramatic side of the coin, rather than the straight up dramatic. It is a choice which seems to rob the narrative of any real emotional heft. It strikes me as a cathartic experience for writer/director Steve Stockman, who lost his mother to cancer some years earlier.
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