SPOILERS:
I'm a bit mixed on this movie. On the one hand, I thought it was a very touching, well acted movie. On the other, I didn't necessarily love the film as a whole.
First my thoughts on the cast. It seems everyone thought Scarlet Johanson stole the film. I don't really agree with that. I don't think she was bad. But I didn't think she was flawless either. Basically I'd say this was neither the best nor worst of her performances. But I actually was a bit more impressed with Travolta.
John Travolta is not an actor I've been a major fan of over the years but I think that's more to do with his choice of movie roles then anything about him as an actor. This was actually a great choice for him because it's a role unlike anything he's done before and you can really see he put his all into it. Although there were a few times where I saw Travolta, rather then Bobby, those times were less then I would have thought they'd be and his portrayal of Bobby was sensitive and heartfelt. I was glad to have seen him in a very different type of role and I was a bit more impressed with him then Johanson.
But here's the thing....the BEST performer, for me, was not either of them, it was Gabrial Macht as Lawson and I guess that's where I differ from a lot of people. His role may have been technically a supporting role but I thought he gave a beautiful performance and he, not Johanson was the one who stole the movie a bit from Travolta. Maybe I am in the minority on that but I really bought into his character and thought his performance exceptional.
In terms of the positives about the movie other then various performances....obviously it was very touching and the characters multi dimensional and the story an interesting one. But the movie's biggest plus was it's rich southern atmosphere. This is a MUST SEE for people who are fans of movies that take place in the south. It's rare that a movie takes such good advantage of atmosphere and Bobby Long did that so skillfully. It was drenched in southern atmosphere and if one didn't love the south before seeing this film, they sure will after seeing it. And if one did love it before(as I did), it will be wonderful to see the south celebrated so much. If there was an academy award for "best atmosphere" Bobby Long would have won that year hands down.
All that being said, I did not love the movie as a whole. I felt it was very slow moving in places and more then that, extremely predictable. The "twist" is all to easy to guess and honestly if the film had not had the strong atmospheric component I am not sure I'd even like it to the extent I did. As it stands, I felt it was slightly above average and certainly had it's good points but won't go down as one of my favorites. My vote's 6. 5 out of 10.
I'm a bit mixed on this movie. On the one hand, I thought it was a very touching, well acted movie. On the other, I didn't necessarily love the film as a whole.
First my thoughts on the cast. It seems everyone thought Scarlet Johanson stole the film. I don't really agree with that. I don't think she was bad. But I didn't think she was flawless either. Basically I'd say this was neither the best nor worst of her performances. But I actually was a bit more impressed with Travolta.
John Travolta is not an actor I've been a major fan of over the years but I think that's more to do with his choice of movie roles then anything about him as an actor. This was actually a great choice for him because it's a role unlike anything he's done before and you can really see he put his all into it. Although there were a few times where I saw Travolta, rather then Bobby, those times were less then I would have thought they'd be and his portrayal of Bobby was sensitive and heartfelt. I was glad to have seen him in a very different type of role and I was a bit more impressed with him then Johanson.
But here's the thing....the BEST performer, for me, was not either of them, it was Gabrial Macht as Lawson and I guess that's where I differ from a lot of people. His role may have been technically a supporting role but I thought he gave a beautiful performance and he, not Johanson was the one who stole the movie a bit from Travolta. Maybe I am in the minority on that but I really bought into his character and thought his performance exceptional.
In terms of the positives about the movie other then various performances....obviously it was very touching and the characters multi dimensional and the story an interesting one. But the movie's biggest plus was it's rich southern atmosphere. This is a MUST SEE for people who are fans of movies that take place in the south. It's rare that a movie takes such good advantage of atmosphere and Bobby Long did that so skillfully. It was drenched in southern atmosphere and if one didn't love the south before seeing this film, they sure will after seeing it. And if one did love it before(as I did), it will be wonderful to see the south celebrated so much. If there was an academy award for "best atmosphere" Bobby Long would have won that year hands down.
All that being said, I did not love the movie as a whole. I felt it was very slow moving in places and more then that, extremely predictable. The "twist" is all to easy to guess and honestly if the film had not had the strong atmospheric component I am not sure I'd even like it to the extent I did. As it stands, I felt it was slightly above average and certainly had it's good points but won't go down as one of my favorites. My vote's 6. 5 out of 10.