PLOT: A young woman flees an abusive situation and travels with her 11-year-old daughter to a ranch in Wyoming to live with her father-in-law. It's tense at first, but the woman, the child, the curmudgeonly old rancher and the hired hand eventually become a family.

An Unfinished Life is the sort of movie that wants to be Taken Seriously. For starters, it has an impressive ensemble cast that includes Morgan Freeman, Robert Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Josh Lucas and Becca Gardner, an impressive child actor who steals every scene she's in.

The story in An Unfinished Life centres around how these characters are lost, emotionally, and how they must forgive each other and themselves. Something like that, anyway. It's a noble idea, but the story is cluttered with bears, abusive boyfriends, tragic loss and plenty of other extraneous detail; this is probably easier to write than three-dimensional characters, and too bad for audiences.

Jennifer Lopez stars here as Jean Gilkyson, a woman on the run. She has an abusive boyfriend.

(This isn't the first time Lopez has played victim, bruises painted on and all. What's up with that?)

Jean and her daughter Griff (Gardner) escape the bad boyfriend and run to Wyoming, where Jean's eccentric father-in-law, Einer Gilkyson (Redford), has a ranch. Einer is eccentric because his son, Jean's husband, is dead. He pretty much blames Jean for that. Furthermore, Einer hadn't even known he had a grandchild until Jean and the little girl turn up. And further furthermore, Einer's best friend and hired hand, Mitch (Freeman) has been mauled by a bear and is still suffering a year later.

So Einer is both eccentric and annoyed.

And Jean is pouty. She doesn't want to live at Einer's ranch any more than he wants her there, but she has no choice.

And the girl, Griff, isn't keen on any of it.

Morgan Freeman's character winces with pain and philosophizes. He has forgiven the bear who chomped on him. Forgiveness is what the others must learn about.

Jean finds a job. Einer and the granddaughter he never knew start getting along well. Then, as if the story weren't crowded enough, the abusive boyfriend shows up. And the bear comes back.

And Einer goes to hospital. And Mitch gets sicker.

And everybody fights. And admits their faults. And asks forgiveness. And a happy ending ensues.

The nicest scenes in An Unfinished Life are those between Morgan Freeman, who always makes the willing suspension of disbelief a breeze, and Robert Redford, who -- if you sort of squint -- is almost believable as a crusty old rancher.

Jennifer Lopez, however, is miscast. Her look is wrong, her voice is wrong and, though it's not her fault, her superstar baggage overwhelms the part.

Too bad. You can see what An Unfinished Life might have been with a bit of cast tweaking: Better.

BOTTOM LINE: This story about family and forgiveness doesn't quite come off, but there are a few lovely moments. The problems seem rooted in the casting. And maybe the writing.

(This film is rated PG)