Probably the most stunning thing about this film from director Scott Elliot, is the fact that Sigourney Weaver, Julianne Moore and David Strathairn weren't nominated for Oscars for it. This film is alive with richly textured and deeply moving performances led by Weaver as a mother who finds her world turned upside after a unthinkable tragedy. Strathairn is her loving, but all too quiet husband, while Moore delivers another brilliant performance as their best friend.

Unpredictability is key in this film about people dealing with love and loss in ways most of us can't comprehend. Map of the World is also honest and realistic in it's depiction of the power of the human spirit. Only in the middle portion of the film (in which Weaver find herself enduring prison life) does this film falter, and only slightly. Map of the Heart is a special film and it's a shame that it didn't get a wider release in theaters. Included on this DVD is a widescreen version of the film and an all too short documentary on the making of Map of the World.