Based on a collection of short stories by American writer A. M. Homes (best known here for the controversial novel The End Of Alice, which was banned by some book shops), this is a movie, like American Beauty, that peers behind the curtains of average homes and reveals that not everything is as perfect as it seems.
In one ordinary suburb, Esther (Close) nurses her comatose son (Joshua Jackson), oblivious to the fact that her daughter (Campbell) resents the attention her brother receives.
Across the street, Jim (Mulroney) realises his wife (Moira Kelly) has a perfectly full life without him, while his pubescent son seems a little bit too preoccupied with his younger sister's plastic doll. These and other fragmented families are linked to a local gardener (Timothy Olyphant), who seems to have a connection to all of them. A beautifully-played little film about relationships.