Tom Cruise may have the "worst-looking" Irish accent on the face of the planet, but it is undeniable that he and Nicole Kidman are sizzling on the silver screen together. Their intensity shines as well as their artistic ability to envelop a character and relate their thoughts to a viewer. Besides their very well done performance, the film is absolutely beautiful. Kudos to the set and costume designers that spent long hours on Far and Away. But he real story in this film is Ron Howard. It is simply a asthetic masterpiece. I spent most of my time wishing that he had just set his camera up on the prairie and filmed the grass growing. It was truly beautiful. Incidentally, sometimes one scene just makes a film. Brings it up from a good film into near 'masterpiece' status. This is one of those films. The music (the best soundtrack of the year thanks to Horner) combined with Ron Howard's vision made the "land race" scene of Far and Away and classic within itself. Put this scene up there with the chariot race in Ben Hur and the parting of the Red Sea in The Ten Commmandments, it is just that good. This is, far and away, one of the best films of the year.