This is by far the best movie I have seen in a looooong time. As I was watching the film, I knew that it was going to be well done. That I was not going to have a cop out ending, and that acting all round was going to be immaculate. You feel every lift that Falconer feels and you shoulder the same melancholy. And just when the veil of sadness start to lift, it all comes inevitably crashing down. I didn’t realise how sucked into the film and how emotionally involved I was till the credits rolled and it hit me all at once. This film will stay with you for a long long time.
Excellent period sets, SUBLIME acting all round. It is so hard to play a desperate and clueless woman but Julianne Moore. Oh, perfection! And what can I say about Colin Firth? I cannot emphasise enough how important understated performances are and it really pays off in a moody picture like this.
There are no grandiose melodramatic gestures, no cheap gimmicks. Everything is a calculated deliberateness. I was initially fearful that Falconer’s interaction with the neighbour’s daughter would be overworked but Colin Firth’s excellent understated performance saved it. Similarly so for the scene with the hustler. Though I feel slightly irked about the overuse of slow motion sequences, it was definitely effective in setting the mood. A film is nothing without a good story and this is the best story I’ve seen in a long long long time. No CGI, no fucking 3D. Just a good story that will stay with you for a long time.
I read afterwards that they used the same people from the Mad Men team for the sets and costumes designs and it shows. Very true to the period and integral to the overall look.
I look forward to Tom Ford’s next film but this will be his piece de resistance.
If you have not seen it, watch it on DVD. This is a must see! 4.5 out of 5.
Random Nonsense 