AdamPeabody

I've seen thousands of movies, and this takes it. I don't just dislike it, I hate everything about it. Tell me how a writer can possibly make an Arthurian story in which they kill King Arthur in an utterly non-canonical way? And how does Richard Gere ever get cast in films taking place in England? And how can one man singlehandedly tank a scene involving a lovely young woman in the green forest outside of Camelot? There are no answers...only more questions. I refuse to ask them anymore. I can only state that I suffered through this would-be date movie under duress. This was another in a long string of terrible movies to haunt the early nineties. "Virtuosity" anyone? How about the dreadful and plodding "Age of Innocence" in which Daniel Day Lewis' inner monologue forced us to check our watches repeatedly during the lighthouse dilemma. Back to Richard Gere, how's about "Sommersby?" This one actually rates highly with many people. Wait...she can't tell he isn't her husband? And neither can anyone else? "Far and Away?" God, did I really see all of these in the THEATER???

I caught this on IFC a few weeks back. I've had the original Mark Isham score for years, and love that, but I never put any effort into finding and watching the film. It's wonderful. Even listening to Harvey Fierstein's voiceover doesn't get irritating because the subject matter is at once riveting and heartfelt, exuberant and crushing. The thing that makes this movie so effective, I think, is that it was clearly pieced together for a mixed audience. This is not a gay film, or a political film, or something only San Franciscans will understand. It brings you in and allows you to really see and hear how this man affected lives around him, including the life of the man who shot him. Fascinating. Haunting. Wonderful. Go see this film.