You realize this is a story about the life beyond this movie, about the great changes in life we never give ourselves time to consider. And for a moviegoing experience, that's a lot of bang for your buck.

The sense of continuing life is quietly remarkable.

Spring Forward is so fully realized and so moving that you wish you could get away with merely saying: "Go see it for yourself."

Not too many actors last year bettered or equaled Beatty and Schreiber here, separately or (better yet) together. It's a pleasure and a privilege to watch them work.

Great, restrained performances of Beatty and Schreiber, delicately framed by the filmmaker's taste for visual compositions.

Two very fine actors, Ned Beatty and Liev Schreiber, engaged in an intense contest to see who can give the more understated performance.

Gilroy has brilliantly played to his strengths in Spring Forward. With a story that has no room for big, obviously "cinematic" effects, he concentrates on simple staging, unobtrusive (though often beautifully evocative) visuals, and sheer performance. It's a decision that pays off.

A resonance that is moving beyond all measure.

It's a pleasure to watch these unhurried, character-driven vignettes when such great actors are anchoring them.

It's the kind of unpretentious movie that falls between the cracks, and for a certain kind of audience, the thoughtful kind, it would be a shame to miss.

The movie's seven scenes were filmed in real time (as opposed to condensed editing-room time) over the course of a year, giving the drama an extra touch of realism and humanity.

There's no question that the film's primary intent is to showcase its stars, but thanks to their perfectly attuned performances, it feels more real than self-conscious.

A little gem that's everything a fine independent film used to be.

Despite the high quality of the acting, Spring Forward is for the most part sleepy, long-winded stuff.