As with Atonement this movie does not have a happy ending. But unlike Atonement it really does lift the spirits even if a little sadly.

I am not a Sean Penn fan and that is based more on some aspects of his early life - nothing to do with his talents. He directs this movie brilliantly.

It is a long movie and it moves along a fair pace. But it needs the length to show just how much life you can fit into 2 years.

There is some fantastic imagery. Let me try and explain. The story is broken into chapters. Birth, Adolescence, Manhood, Family, Wisdom. Throughout the movie he sometimes looks up to the skies and invariably an aeroplan will be passing leaving a contrail. When he arrives in Alaska he sees fighter jets doing dog fight moves. If you tie this back to the structure of his life - most of the time the contrails are ordered and straight - like there is direction of purpose but when he arrives in Alaska there is chaos and disorder - and then he gets direction again and the contrails straighten out.

There is some powerful stuff when you see the wolves and the bald eagle. But see it and then we can discuss.

The scenery is magnificent so don't wait for this to come out on the small screen