Sunday, January 11, 2009
Film Whatever You Do, Don't Go See Revolutionary Road
Posted by Christopher Frizzelle on Sun, Jan 11, 2009 at 12:09 AM
Unless you like long, horrible movies.
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7
A boat does sink...I think that is what happens to her vagina...in any event "She did it to herself!!!"
9
it was a great movie. it's nominated for 4 golden globes by the foreign press - best drama, best actor, best actress, best director.
it was a great movie. not sure the slog is the best authority on film.
it was a great movie. not sure the slog is the best authority on film.
10
@9. whether Slog (as though it were a monolith) "is the best authority on film" seems a little off-base. I don't agree with this particular Slogger, who seems upset, to an unusual and inarticulate degree for him, that he spent time with the thing. But no way is this a great movie. Revolutionary Road is a great novel. It simply doesn't need the movie treatment. The movie is an unpleasant, bitter and grueling ordeal, wrapped in wax. While the book is no picnic, it has a funny and forgiving side that the movie lacks; and you can take a break from the book to walk the dog, make another drink, or gouge your eyes out when it gets to be too much. I am not alone in this view; not even Mr. Frizzelle is alone in his view: check out rottentomatoes.com and you can find critics all over the map with this movie.
11
My wife went to see it alone and came back saying it made her feel much better about our marriage. Was a great movie from my perspective.
12
Thanks for the articulate, well written criticism. Boy I really love the way you guys engage the medium of cinema. As in not at all.
13
@10, Slog might as well be a monolith as far as I'm concerned they are more or less equally pathetic.
I took your suggestion to check out Rotten Tomatoes and found this:
"Critics' Consensus: Brilliantly acted and emotionally powerful."
And this:
Reviews Counted: 117
Fresh: 78
Rotten:39
Doesn't sound like "all over the map" to me, especially considering Foreign Press/ Golden Globe nominations for best picture, director, actor, and actress.
I took your suggestion to check out Rotten Tomatoes and found this:
"Critics' Consensus: Brilliantly acted and emotionally powerful."
And this:
Reviews Counted: 117
Fresh: 78
Rotten:39
Doesn't sound like "all over the map" to me, especially considering Foreign Press/ Golden Globe nominations for best picture, director, actor, and actress.
14
No movie featuring Kate Winslet could possibly be "horrible".
The narrative had some weaknesses, but the acting was great, and the movie's portrayal of the 1950's was worth the price of admission.
The narrative had some weaknesses, but the acting was great, and the movie's portrayal of the 1950's was worth the price of admission.
17
I'd suggest reading the book.
She looks better in The Reader, for which she won two awards, actually. But it's a difficult role, even if all the NY reviewers are all "who wants to watch a movie about someone who is a German?" and don't get it.
And, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was good, but not for everyone (obviously).
She looks better in The Reader, for which she won two awards, actually. But it's a difficult role, even if all the NY reviewers are all "who wants to watch a movie about someone who is a German?" and don't get it.
And, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was good, but not for everyone (obviously).
18
A negative review from the Stranger is generally a positive endorsement of a film (for me, at least).
Worst. Reviews. EVAR.
Worst. Reviews. EVAR.
19
"Wahhhhhh! We're rich, white, beautiful, and live in a gorgeous house in the suburbs! Wahhhhhh!"
Sam Mendes sucks. "American Beauty" was the most overrated movie of the last decade.
Sam Mendes sucks. "American Beauty" was the most overrated movie of the last decade.
20
Such a thoughtful, articulate, well written review!!! I already saw it and am really wishing that I hadn't so that your review could have packed the punch with which it was most likely intended. Thanks!
21
@13. Read the reviews (or at least the snippets). They indeed are all over the map. Many big-name critics weigh in with negative things to say about the movie. A 67% Rotten Tomatoes score is sort of a B or B-. I didn't say the reviews were evenly distributed. That there were lots of Golden Globes nomination doesn't exactly settle the issue, as I'm sure our nice friend Francois Alain Sarris Kael @ 12 would agree.
@19 Big Sven has it right. One big problem with this movie is the they way Sam Mendes gets in the way of the powerful story of the novel that's at one timeless and a great period piece. Not all the critics like the acting, and I think they're right. There's something about the direction that prevents Kate and Leo from being convincing. They yell, they scream, they look good, they emote but, for all the hyper-realism of the art direction, they don't seem particularly real.
@19 Big Sven has it right. One big problem with this movie is the they way Sam Mendes gets in the way of the powerful story of the novel that's at one timeless and a great period piece. Not all the critics like the acting, and I think they're right. There's something about the direction that prevents Kate and Leo from being convincing. They yell, they scream, they look good, they emote but, for all the hyper-realism of the art direction, they don't seem particularly real.
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