2007



January 28, 2008
Campbell CA -- Camera 7
UK / France
English / French
130 Minutes
Drama / Romance / War
Joe Wright

You Can Only Imagine The Truth.

What is the huge frickin deal with this movie? What is everyone seeing here that I don't? Girl reads something beyond her maturity level, misunderstands how young, attractive people interact, tells a lie, and ruins the lives of people around her. The end. Nothing to herald here.

James McAvoy is the housekeeper's son, though Oxford educated. He digs holes in the estates garden without a shirt, the sweat dripping down his muscled back. Keira Knightley parades around those same grounds in all of her beautiful, emaciated glory, wearing next to nothing, with little or no sense of purpose in between the wars. They are hot. They are young. There are not many other possible suitors. They want to touch each other.

Are they in love? I never bought it.

Boy and girl are torn apart. Boy enters WWII English army, girl becomes London nurse. Do I believe that they're pining away for each other constantly? No, I did not.

Second half of movie is Boy in French countryside with army buddies. Much-talked-about unbroken take at Dunkirk will make you talk about it, but only because you're wondering how much CGI was used, and exactly who had a loudspeaker loud enough for all the extras to hear.

The praise it's getting is way out of proportion. I found the early, estate scenes boring and redundant. I found the love affair unbelievable. I found the accusation ridiculous. I found the war scenes strangely uncompelling. And I found the ending neither heartbreaking nor incredibly romantic.

I am not happy about this. Where was ONCE on the Best Picture list?

Oscar Nominations:
--Picture
--Supporting Actress Saoirse Ronan
--Cinematography
--Adapted Screenplay
--Art Direction
--Costumes
--Original Score

8.5 Metacritic
8.0 IMDB
**** Ebert
***^ Phillips
***^ Berardinelli
B Schwarzbaum

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