Very good film with a wonderfully creative script. However this film lost 1 star for the poorly stabilized camera work. It is a tragedy that the terrific work of the director, art director, and actors was obscured by camera shakes in the worst spots! In the film's most deeply emotional pauses, the handheld camera announced its presence, "Hey! Don't forget I'm here and bouncing around!" The key to this fresh use of the western genre—here transported to the Deep South—is the same slow burn found in all great westerns, but every single slow burn in The Keeping Room was upstaged by the poor camera stabilization. Gimbals are available for cameras during shooting in order to make handheld work look great, and digital stabilizers are available for the Avid software used in editing this, what could have been a masterpiece.

A slow burning, tension filled thriller with fantastic acting. The premise is an unusual perspective, that of three southern women (two young sisters and a slave) struggling to survive in the end of the Civil War and the threat of starvation and human brutality. Not for the faint hearted - the violence feels very real. Beautiful writing byJulia Hart. Standout performances by Brit Marling, Hailee Steinfield, Muna Otaru (one of her speeches should have won her an Oscar nod) and Sam Worthington. I give this a 7.5 (captivating) out of 10. [Civil War Thriller]

An interesting film, well made with good acting. Watchable but no classic.