This movie has much that one would expect to enjoy, not the least of which is the lovely Kate Winslet. Many things about it are good, and all the performances are quite strong (again, including Ms. Winslet's).
But I didn't enjoy it. I'm all for long, slow, understated movies, but this one didn't make the grade. I suspect the problem was either the direction or the editing; I'm not sure which. Permit me to explain:
Movies that have a leisurely pace need to allow their events to "breathe" by surrounding more "dynamic" moments, if you will, with more tranquil ones. (Any of the better Merchant-Ivory films will provide an excellent example of this.)
This movie, however, suffers from being perpetually caught between calming down and taking wing. There's not enough happening to make it exciting in a moment-to-moment way, but there's too much happening to give one the same sense of scale that one gets in a true "leisurely masterpiece". Sometimes it's the soundtrack (which gets a bit much in places), sometimes it's the direction, sometimes it's something one can't quite put one's finger on. To put it differently, I don't think the film ever finds its rhythm, and as a result, the problems with the narrative and character motivation become far more of an issue than they would have been had the movie been better paced.
In any event, throughout the entire movie, something is amiss, and it's never put quite right. As a result, what could have been a great movie comes out muddled and jumbled, and leaves one feeling oddly unsatisfied and apathetic.
But I didn't enjoy it. I'm all for long, slow, understated movies, but this one didn't make the grade. I suspect the problem was either the direction or the editing; I'm not sure which. Permit me to explain:
Movies that have a leisurely pace need to allow their events to "breathe" by surrounding more "dynamic" moments, if you will, with more tranquil ones. (Any of the better Merchant-Ivory films will provide an excellent example of this.)
This movie, however, suffers from being perpetually caught between calming down and taking wing. There's not enough happening to make it exciting in a moment-to-moment way, but there's too much happening to give one the same sense of scale that one gets in a true "leisurely masterpiece". Sometimes it's the soundtrack (which gets a bit much in places), sometimes it's the direction, sometimes it's something one can't quite put one's finger on. To put it differently, I don't think the film ever finds its rhythm, and as a result, the problems with the narrative and character motivation become far more of an issue than they would have been had the movie been better paced.
In any event, throughout the entire movie, something is amiss, and it's never put quite right. As a result, what could have been a great movie comes out muddled and jumbled, and leaves one feeling oddly unsatisfied and apathetic.