jmccrmck-65172

The first thing to recognize here in this review how absolutely stunning the performances of Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz are. And then if you watched the film without sound you recognize the skill and vision of Tim Burton ; I was already a fan and that was how I landed on this movie when I couldn't find anything I wanted to see in movie theater. ( they are all pretty much showing the same titles , too bad , no variety or choices any more ) It is not necessarily anything like his other movies. Characters credible even as outlandish as Walter Keane is in real life and in this one single respect the movie is like 'I Tonya' because this sh&^% really happened. Thoroughly enjoyable, the last couple of scenes seem a bit strained but it does not matter because the film is so entertaining overall.

The only character that is actually developed is 'Agnes' played by the director Eva Victor and she delivers a credible performance BUT this film would be akin to reading three different books at the same time ; read a chapter in one book go to a different book and so on. There are a couple of scenes that are genuinely moving AND I enjoyed watching them but it was extremely tedious getting to them. There are well worn tropes I won't go into here but the dialogue is for the most part unconvincing and the other characters less so . Overall the movie feels like it was made by an amateur. To produce a movie and be its leading character was probably never going to work; a rookie mistake. Sound advice, don't be your own stuntman.

The days of independent 'arthouse' movie theaters are, sadly, mostly a thing of the past unless you live in a market that can support one. This film would certainly land there if there were any. I was rapt with the story , cinematography . . . And . . . Acting. Some of the shot set ups are remarkedly artistic and original. The main character, a young child is in practically every shot and scene and could not be more believable in that portrayal and you are always seeing things from her point of view and nothing is ever hyped or remotely artificial. I hesitated to give the movie eight stars only because I reserve that for only the very best and special kind of movies but this one is at that level because everything and I mean everything works and it is great story on a deeply human level. No one is pigeon holed , you can relate to anyone of them. Not Hollywood ,studio fare, best movie I have seen in quite some time.