Movies with a shock surprise ending are great, but this 2003 drama/romance takes a slow road getting there, so will probably be most liked by viewers who like deep plodding character analysis.

A well respected college professor with 35 years on the job is forced to retire when he innocently uses a word which upsets the politically correct crowd. His wife is so upset by this that she throws a brain aneurysm and dies.

Now bitter and alone, the professor takes up with a much younger woman whose life is a mess, and is being stalked by her ex-husband, who blames her for the death of their children.

At the very end, things come to a climax and a shocking secret about the professor is revealed. It takes a long time to get there, but overall not a bad movie if you can stand the pace, and some brief but nice nudity by both Nicole Kidman and Jacinda Barrett make it a little more interesting, and Jacinda does a strip dance that's one of the sexier I've seen on film.