Le pouvoir de l'argent

I have to say that Robin Williams has come a long way regarding his acting. This is an early work and one that probably had folks confused since he was best known as the manic comic. But this Saul Bellow story of dispair and humor would have been considerably more depressing (good or bad) with, perhaps, Dustin Hoffman in the lead. Being 1986 and for TV, this was quite a groundbreaker. Don't get me wrong, I liked it -- I just couldn't help but wonder what a re-make would be today with our current abilities (and obsessions) at making rage and dispair truly palpable. There was a bit too much self-awareness on the part of the director/writer at making sure there was comic relief where none was needed......

I accidentally found this movie, and it was pretty good. The movie reminds me of Rquiem for a Dream, as it's a story of a man that his life totally colapses in peaces.

The movie is just depressing, and it does it's job pretty well. However, the movie is a slow one. Do not expect a fast pasing movie, this one is pretty slow, but it's good anyway. If you want see a good Man's life completely get shatered by his father, ex-wife, and a scammer. You got yourself a movie that really shows it all.

This man had his dream of being an actor it failed. Now he has the dream of being with his children, when his wife took everything from him, and just cares for him for his money, it fails as well. I did not watch this movie with subs on my language so it was a bit hard to understand the speaking completely, but i have understand the movie, and it's a really good one.

Acting was really good. Everyone, but mostlyRobin Williams does his job very well. Sometimes the story gets a bit repetitive and slow, but it wont kill off the movie. This movie is like the old-school version of Requiem for a Dream, and both of these films are really good.

This film is a match for Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. A very tightly controlled drama with richly vivid characters and the casting is excellent. Robin Willimas has never done anything better and without all of that comedy schtick that he is so famous for. Joseph Wiseman is an absolute monster and that 'hotel' they live in might as well be hell. It is even depicted as hell with those scenes in the steam room/spa with all those walking corpses wondering around. I read the novel this was based on nearly thirty years ago, and my feeling then as now, seeing the film, is that there is no resolution. Wilkie has no exit from his situation. One thing for sure, he needs to get away from those people (his girlfriend seems to be in love w/him, regardless of the money, so that's something). I give this a very strong recommendation.

Before leading his students to noble pursuits and seize the day in "Dead Poets Society" Robin Williams appeared in a small film named "Seize the Day" whose inspiration is totally different from the other film; the inspiration here is deeper, sometimes invisible to the eyes of a regular viewer but a regular viewer won't be watching any of those films even if they're Williams fans.

Based on the great novel written by Saul Bellow, Seize the Day" follows Tommy Wilhelm (Williams) a failed actor, defeated salesman, out of luck, out of job, who left his wife and children and now needs to pay for their alimony; he tries to find a way for his life with a new girlfriend (Glenne Headly) who wants something concrete with this guy, more than just promises that everything will be fine. On his way of trying to get some help he'll try two options: working closely with a successful doctor (Jerry Stiller) who teaches all about stock market and how to make money in risky business or ask to his estranged and repressive father (Joseph Wiseman) for money, love and understanding which is something very hard to get with this man, since he almost rejects his son simply because he didn't followed his advice of going to medicine school and end up getting underemployed and underpaid. But with all this drama, sadness and failures Tommy still has the compassion of crying for a stranger during a funeral, or as some might say, seize the day.

The movie progresses with a story about the importance of money versus human feelings in an animalistic society that believes in the power of an object (money) instead of deeper and positive feelings like love and respect; people simply don't care about what they cannot see. They don't help each other unless money is involved. But, hey, at the end of the day we can all sit down, breathe and think about our lives and think: there's worst problems in the world so here's a chance to smile and enjoy the things to come, carpe diem! The film and the book work with that idea but they diverge in a few things.

Bellow is not much of an easy writer to read but the book is his most accessible; the film knows how to translate his story and environment despite its looks of an B movie with an extremely low budget, but what the film doesn't seem to capture its the essence of the characters, often neglected in some low acting from the cast reduced to shouting scenes, or moments when we couldn't understand what they were saying and they were too different from the way they were written in the book, something that would be appealing in the film version because they were dramatic enough and very believable while in the film sometimes they were comical and a little bit hysterical.

It is a very good film, has its good moments, presented a relevant story even today and there's some good acting from few members of the cast (Jerry Stiller surprised me big time, this is his best role ever). I guess this was a way of Robin Williams showing his dramatic skills for the first time, a film which almost no one saw except the producers from "Good Morning Vietnam" who really saw a natural talent coming from his performance in "Seize the Day" and decided to take a shot, and the rest is history. His performance went from moving and interesting to mildly bad. You can see and feel his desperation but there were times when it seemed he was going to make us laugh when we didn't needed, but I guess this was a script problem that treated some of the dramatic moments as a comedy; rare moments, nothing to ruin the film. But his last scene, in a different perspective from what Bellow made in the book, was incredible, with one of the most ambiguous crying scenes I've ever seen. That's the moment he realizes everything and we keep thinking: what's the most important value in our lives? Money? Love? Or we don't have values because we're animals that need to do everything possible to survive in a cruel world? Why is it so difficult to be understood? Don't wait for answers about all that, just seize the day and watch this film. 7/10.

SEIZE THE DAY (1986) (MADE FOR TV) **** Robin Williams, Jerry Stiller, Glenne Headly, Tony Roberts, Joseph Wiseman, William Hickey. Williams delivers the best performance of his career in this little-seen but genuinely excellent film as Tommy Wilhelm, a loser on a continuous downward spiral, who desperately grasps at straws and for his father's unwelcomed love. Heartbreaking yet powerful Saul Bellow short-storyesque feel with one of the most realistic nervous breakdown ever captured on film. A must see for quality acting and directing.