nikatnyte
Joined Sep 2002
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Reviews28
nikatnyte's rating
I liked this film when it first came out, and watched it again last night for the first time in years. It moved me far more than it ever did before, and I know why. Its message of the need to be open to the diversity of the world--in all its beauty, ugliness, and uncomfortableness--in order to be truly human is at direct odds with the message being delivered by those in political power today. They want to return us to a sanitized (and very restrictive) version of a past that never was, just as people watch old 50s sitcoms to relive a fairy-tale era that never happened.
Gary Ross does a masterful job of taking a premise that could have been incredibly gimmicky or facile and making it work beautifully. Certainly there are moments when its message is a bit heavy-handed, but then, so were the types of TV shows on which this is based. The ending is dazzlingly uplifting without being cloying or overly schmaltzy. It made me feel more optimistic than I've felt in years.
I hope someday this film receives the kind of overdue acclaim bestowed on films like "It's a Wonderful Life". It more than deserves to.
Gary Ross does a masterful job of taking a premise that could have been incredibly gimmicky or facile and making it work beautifully. Certainly there are moments when its message is a bit heavy-handed, but then, so were the types of TV shows on which this is based. The ending is dazzlingly uplifting without being cloying or overly schmaltzy. It made me feel more optimistic than I've felt in years.
I hope someday this film receives the kind of overdue acclaim bestowed on films like "It's a Wonderful Life". It more than deserves to.
There's so much to admire here: the wonderful performances, the captivating cinematography, the creative subverting of the standard biopic trope. And yet I came away somewhat disappointed.
Part of this is due to the nontraditional approach to a biopic. We don't see much of Bernstein's renowned highlights ("West Side Story" is barely mentioned), and for the biography of a famous musician there's surprisingly little music. All right, I'll go with that.
Call me a traditionalist, but I wanted more of a defined story arc. We see key moments in their lives but I never truly got a sense of what drove Bernstein (or his wife) other than their undeniable love for one another. Also, in many of the scenes I had a hard time following dialogue: lines were spoken on top of one another, rapidly. Yes, I know that's how people talk in real life, but this is a movie that we're supposed to understand.
I will watch this again (with subtitles) to see what I missed, and perhaps I will appreciate it more. Let me state that I mostly liked this (hence my rating) -- but whether it was due to heightened expectations or not, I wanted more.
Part of this is due to the nontraditional approach to a biopic. We don't see much of Bernstein's renowned highlights ("West Side Story" is barely mentioned), and for the biography of a famous musician there's surprisingly little music. All right, I'll go with that.
Call me a traditionalist, but I wanted more of a defined story arc. We see key moments in their lives but I never truly got a sense of what drove Bernstein (or his wife) other than their undeniable love for one another. Also, in many of the scenes I had a hard time following dialogue: lines were spoken on top of one another, rapidly. Yes, I know that's how people talk in real life, but this is a movie that we're supposed to understand.
I will watch this again (with subtitles) to see what I missed, and perhaps I will appreciate it more. Let me state that I mostly liked this (hence my rating) -- but whether it was due to heightened expectations or not, I wanted more.
The previous film version of this Agatha Christie classic was no masterpiece, but it was fun and diverting, the cast a hoot.
Alas, this one takes it several steps backward. Kenneth Branagh is a passable Poirot, but as a director he's a mess. Where is Agatha Christie's wit and humor? This version is way too dreary, very dark and grim. The changes to the story, although intended (I suppose) to simplify it for today's viewers, only make it worse.
The positives? Yes, there are some. The cast is uniformly good, particularly Sophie Okenedo. The production values and cinematography are dazzling, although the constantly moving camerawork is distracting.
The result is: Other than a quick buck, why did they bother? Advice to anyone wishing to remake a film: either do it better or give it up.
Alas, this one takes it several steps backward. Kenneth Branagh is a passable Poirot, but as a director he's a mess. Where is Agatha Christie's wit and humor? This version is way too dreary, very dark and grim. The changes to the story, although intended (I suppose) to simplify it for today's viewers, only make it worse.
The positives? Yes, there are some. The cast is uniformly good, particularly Sophie Okenedo. The production values and cinematography are dazzling, although the constantly moving camerawork is distracting.
The result is: Other than a quick buck, why did they bother? Advice to anyone wishing to remake a film: either do it better or give it up.