I would like to present to you the film of 2005 that gets the coveted title "Soap Opera Movie of the Year." When I sat down to watch Memoirs of a Geisha, I knew I was in trouble because of the bad reviews the movie has received and also because of the way the movie opened. We get no explanation as to why these two young sisters are torn from their parents and forced to be slaves. It just happens.
I would like to focus this paragraph on the troubles I had with the movie in a list. 1.) Why are these characters speaking English?? This was set in Japan before WWII and I think that the Japanese people there SPOKE Japanese. The most annoying aspect of this was that it was very very very difficult to understand the actors at times because they aren't native English speakers. I hope that doesn't sound too prejudice because it's not a dig at them, it's a dig at it being filmed in English. 2.) It was like two different movies. The first half dealt with seeing the life of a geisha and how you become one and the rivalry that happens within that circle. It was interesting to see how sacred the geisha were during pre-WWII times. But then the war happens and that is really when the movie went downhill...and fast. It was poorly executed and so ridiculously contrived. The romantic aspect of it was poorly put together as well, and the ending was rushed and overall last half was too choppy. There was not a great connection between the before and after of the war times, though it was nice to see how the geisha were sexed up after the war. 3.) Already mentioned this above, but the majority of this movie had so many soap opera aspects that it was initially becoming fun to laugh at, but overall it just became ridiculous. The rivalries between the geishas was seriously from an episode of a daytime soap opera, ditto the romantic aspect and the dealing with the war.
Acting-wise, Ziyi Zhang was good, but nothing award-worthy here. I liked Gong Li, but I think the MVP of the movie acting-wise was Michelle Yeoh. I don't know what to think of Rob Marshall's work here. I didn't hate his work in Chicago, and I didn't love it either, but this was just...a mess. And the majority of it has to be laid on the doorstep of the director. I did love the art direction though and the score was nice at times though also a little too overpowering. Liked the cinematography. I read a shorthand review of the movie from a critic online that sums up the movie perfectly: a beautiful bore.
I don't know if this story is adapted well since I have not personally read the source material, but I do know that if this was like the book, it's no wonder why it didn't work on screen. I don't even know if another director or the film being put in different hands altogether would have made much difference. Who knows, but all I know is that as is, this is bar none one of the worst movies I have seen this year. I can see why some would like it (like my mother, who loved it), but I am not one of them.
I would like to focus this paragraph on the troubles I had with the movie in a list. 1.) Why are these characters speaking English?? This was set in Japan before WWII and I think that the Japanese people there SPOKE Japanese. The most annoying aspect of this was that it was very very very difficult to understand the actors at times because they aren't native English speakers. I hope that doesn't sound too prejudice because it's not a dig at them, it's a dig at it being filmed in English. 2.) It was like two different movies. The first half dealt with seeing the life of a geisha and how you become one and the rivalry that happens within that circle. It was interesting to see how sacred the geisha were during pre-WWII times. But then the war happens and that is really when the movie went downhill...and fast. It was poorly executed and so ridiculously contrived. The romantic aspect of it was poorly put together as well, and the ending was rushed and overall last half was too choppy. There was not a great connection between the before and after of the war times, though it was nice to see how the geisha were sexed up after the war. 3.) Already mentioned this above, but the majority of this movie had so many soap opera aspects that it was initially becoming fun to laugh at, but overall it just became ridiculous. The rivalries between the geishas was seriously from an episode of a daytime soap opera, ditto the romantic aspect and the dealing with the war.
Acting-wise, Ziyi Zhang was good, but nothing award-worthy here. I liked Gong Li, but I think the MVP of the movie acting-wise was Michelle Yeoh. I don't know what to think of Rob Marshall's work here. I didn't hate his work in Chicago, and I didn't love it either, but this was just...a mess. And the majority of it has to be laid on the doorstep of the director. I did love the art direction though and the score was nice at times though also a little too overpowering. Liked the cinematography. I read a shorthand review of the movie from a critic online that sums up the movie perfectly: a beautiful bore.
I don't know if this story is adapted well since I have not personally read the source material, but I do know that if this was like the book, it's no wonder why it didn't work on screen. I don't even know if another director or the film being put in different hands altogether would have made much difference. Who knows, but all I know is that as is, this is bar none one of the worst movies I have seen this year. I can see why some would like it (like my mother, who loved it), but I am not one of them.