yevonwm

Now let me start by balancing my review :P This film isn't perfect, the story is pretty slow in parts, not so much the first time you watch it but after that there's bits that take a long time to add little value to the film. Also let me say I'm not some art student, fan of art-house films or anything other than a normal movie goer so I don't really understand people using big words to review a film.

However I am happy to say that this is the best film of all time. I've watched a lot of films to the point where I've almost run out, I've worked my way through other peoples lists of 'best films of all time ever' and gave them a fair chance. But this film is fantastic! The reason why I like it is very soft I'm afraid, it's such a raw depiction of how real relationships happen. You become completely immersed in the unspoken desires of the core characters, you *will* the relationship to unfold and if something goes wrong you're screaming "NNNNOAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH". You can imagine times that the same thing has happened to you but your life did/did not pan out like that.

Ralph Feinnes does what he does best, plays a reserved Englishman masking incredibly intense emotions as best he can. In other films it's not appropriate and you can see that his range is quite narrow but here he slots in perfectly. Kristin Scott Thomas does exactly the same with flair. Everything else about the film is technically perfect. If you haven't seen this film then you're missing something special.

This film is pretty bad. I cant think of a single thing good about this film and I love movies. Lets start with the cast, matt dillon has been great recently but his character has no back story, hes a determined cop with no obvious motivation. On the evil side of the plot none of the actors have enough time on screen to shine as individuals. Paul walker and idris elba can carry a film but mixed in with musicians doing cameos they completely lose their shine. The film moves quickly offering no back story to any character and the most shallow of motivations for most of them, so quickly that you cant follow or maintain interest in the plot. The heist parts of the plot are lifted from numerous other films, die hard, Italian job 2002 remake etc. Its hard to believe they managed to produce not much from so much potential. The icing on the cake is idris elba not being able to manage an English accent despite being from London.

Any attempt I make to describe this film isn't going to do it justice, in short: if you like dark and powerful films then watch this, you won't regret it. In long: I was bored so I watched this with 0 hype on cable. I watch 1-2 films per day almost every day but I was completely blown away by how powerful the screenplay is on this film. It features Nicole Kidman, someone who wasn't on my radar of good actresses and Jack Black - a slapstick comedian, what on earth was I suppose to expect here? The reality is that the screenplay for this film could be performed by a twig alongside a slice of apple pie and the twig would win an Oscar. It's an extremely dark depiction of a relatively normal event, a wedding, through the interactions of half a dozen flawed adults and the three children that they drag, kicking and screaming, through childhood.

The writers really paint the complexity of everyday people, these aren't people that have extreme mental disorders - these are people you work with that often find themselves thrust together and bound by the most semantic of bonds, family, friends, marriage. Nicole Kidman blew me away as 'Margot', arguably the most flawed of the characters but by no means the protagonist or villain. Jack Black really suppressed his usual over-the-top slapstick to give a subtle performance of a serious character.

I was watching avidly until the end which was like a punch in the face. I mean in the middle of a scene it just says 'Fin'. This film should have been twice as long as it was! Maybe I was just so into the film that I didn't want it to end, either way I make it an 85 minute film when I wished it was over 2 hours.