I know one very similar to this movie and much better too, called "Stepmom" with Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon and Ed Harris. The truth is that this drama (call it the novel would be too absurd) can have the most unsympathetic characters possible. Natalie Portman strives to give credibility to Emily, but the abuse of recurring return to the premature death of the daughter is the actress crippling any attempt to make her character more three-dimensional! Nevertheless, it is the best on the scene because her husband apparently indifferent and soothing, the conflicted ex-wife and the son verbally aggressive and nasty drawback is sufficient reason to abandon that Emily left the life in the midst of that family. It's a tearjerker poorly done and most obvious example of this is the final 30 minutes to extend into dialogue with another party of Emily solving not only the loose ends of the film as a whole, but of her life, as if only a simple conversation could unlock and enter the core of the personality and feelings.