Empire Falls (2005)

Almost-dead small town is unofficially run by a Potteresque widow.

The colorful characters include:
--The longsuffering manager of the local diner, whose shrill wife has just 1) shed 50 pounds and 2) left him for an older man
--The town bum, who always has "crumbs in [his] beard" (though I never saw them for myself -- just heard about them)
--The sensitive, kind, and pretty arty girl
--The disturbed and pitiful loner
--The ignorant bully of a cop
--The senile ex-priest who steals the poorbox cash and sometimes forgets to wear pants
--and on and on

The only sparks of life are in the flashbacks -- the movie thrives in the past and dies in the present (much like the town itself). I have no idea how this hokey, unoriginal mess of a story attracted such a talented cast.

C-