A Complete Waste of Time
What a terrible load of rubbish. A waste of good actors. A waste of a
film crew. A waste of film!!! A waste of time for anyone watching it. It is just such a heap of garbage!!!! The movie grabs you in the first few minutes with what promises to be a thriller. From there on it goes steadily downhill with a very weak storyline, some lousy directing, and a mawkish puerile ending. All I can say to anyone with this movie on DVD is bin it or burn it quickly. Don't insult anyone by giving to them. I would sue the makers for mental torture and stress if I had the means. Avoid this movie at all costs.. 
Helen Mirren is THE Star
WARNING:POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD. DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE
FILM. The three stars of the film are among my favorites, so I was expecting them all to be great. And they were. It is an intimate film without many extraneous characters so we are able to zoom in on each of them. Willem Dafoe for once plays a regular guy, so his performance is very even and without any over the top histrionics. His character has decided what he is going to do, and nothing deters him. Redford is to be admired for a very subtle performance without the Hollywood glamor attached. But, like the stars of the 30s and 40s, he is still Redford more than he is the character(not necessarily a bad thing). Helen Mirren, however, is the real star of the film, in my opinion. Her performance is effortless and graceful with strong emotions just under the surface. There is a scene where the FBI agent has just told her that her husband has continued an affair she thought was over. She bows her head, tears coming into her eyes, then moments later raises her head with her "cool" still intact. We see the control take over right in front of our eyes, and it is awesome to behold. I found myself asking, "Did I really just see that?" I plan to see the movie again just for that scene. Helen Mirren is finally getting the roles she has so long deserved. I have been a big fan for a long time, especially of Prime Suspect and some of her other television miniseries. With this film and Calendar Girls, she is on her way! I hope the Academy is paying attention.... |
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