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If you sit down to watch Nora and expect to find some insight into James Joyce, you can forget it. Instead, you will find a studied "lushness" of filming, with vague, disconnected scenes that hint at what is going on. Romantic? I suppose. That would make it a chick flick. The limited use of nudity and sexual simulations would make it provocative. (But was there any uproar about the movie? I think not -- just mark it R and move on.) Joyce's writing is given only slight mention. We see he is writing, we see a publisher rejecting his work (which one? who knows? Well, it was "The Dubliners," of course, with specific objection to the story "The Dead.") We see Nora and James fighting over ... well, various things ... and his throwing the manuscript into the fire. Nora retrieves it, badly burnt but partially reconstructible. And what work was this? You won't know from the movie. And I'm not telling either! (Look it up.) It's like this throughout. It isn't made clear exactly when Nora and James were married, but there is a cutesy moment in the film where Nora slips on a wedding ring. From that we are supposed to realize that they are finally married. An unsuspecting viewer might think they were married earlier. Maybe not. Why knows? As my wife says, "I don't care. It was an exciting movie." Just let it roll over you, enjoy what you can, and move on. (The children are adorable, however.)

If you watch this TV movie you will get a slow, gentle insight into the pre-World War II period. It is beautifully done: the sets, the costuming, the acting all blend to be the late 1930's. It is a touching story, but some of the actual meaning has been left out, leaving us with a one-sided, positive feeling about the lead characters. It was a noble thing for a king to abdicate for his love, no? Well, perhaps, but the truth is that he was forced out without his fighting for the crown. (Lots of anguish, yes, but no fight.) The character of Wallis Simpson was overly simplified to make her appear to be more blameless than she was in reality, less manipulating, and attractive. I don't recall any of the rumors of her German leanings being mentioned, which may be just as well since they have been heavily discounted and are probably not true. Barring this one flaw of not presenting Mrs. Simpson as she has become known to be (and was rumored to be at the time), the movie is excellent. Schedule several days to watch it and don't try to cram it into one session. It takes a little settling time between episodes. (The documentary accompanying the movie must be seen after watching the movie. Don't watch it first!)

It's unbelievable that the production staff, crew, and a large cast of actors could sign on to this overblown movie. It is tempting; I mean, it has John Belushi in it. And Robert Stack. Dan Aykroyd starring? Directed by Spielberg? You would think this is unbeatable. You trust these people, right? Well, it is time for you and them to grow up. (To be fair, it would appear that all but Belushi DID grow up, and went on to give us a lot of good, funny, and interesting movie experiences.) However, one joke (maybe three if you stretch the point) repeated ad nauseam isn't funny for very long. Lots of running around aimlessly, screaming, explosions, and things (everything!) being knocked down or blown up for over two hours. A true blast for a six-year old, perhaps. That's it. Nothing. Let's not waste any more time on this thing...