mother night one favorite novels going see expecting huge disappointment instead got film perfectly portrays irony humor elequence else crushing sadness vonneguts novelbr br this certainly noltes best preformance date captures defeat selfloathing howard cambell jr consistently subtle intonations speech held back tears behind eyesbr br alan arkin absolutly hilarious george kraft sherryl lee haunting detachment reality cambells young lover john goodman understated effective cambells blue fairy godmotherbr br this pinnocioesque story cambell trying ideal hero unwittingly becoming ideal tragic villian mature vivid look people aside that one deeply romantic films ever come across cambell incarnation foolish wise love films sastifyingly painful conclusion finally learns means real boy blue fairy godmother grants wish realizes thatwell watch movie seebr br mother night without doubt mind one best films ever made beautiful poetic story digs deep within emotions completely faithful original author