Author: crunchonthis

    I will start by admitting that this is a very interesting story.  As a true tale of heroism, I find the actual events to be rather inspirational.  That being said, the main fault of this film lies within the script.  Throughout the film, much of the dialogue rings false and the many of the characters seem like stereotypes rather than real life-folks put into a horrible situation.  Perhaps this is true due to a desire by the filmmakers to be too true to the story, or maybe it’s because the words and characters look great on paper, but lose their authenticity on screen.  Whatever it may be, these two faults get in the way of a really great story.

    What the film does have going for it are two great leading men in Craig and Schreiber, a fantastic production team, and one of the most beautiful musical scores of the year by composer James Newton Howard and virtuosos violinist Joshua Bell.  I think that had I watched this film as a foreign language movie without subtitles, my opinion of it might be very high.  As it is, I think that some audiences will connect, but many will walk away disapointed.    C+

For those expecting Kate and Leo’s return to be a romantic drama, forget about it.  I don’t want to give anything important away, but this is not a feel-good movie.  This is a film about a couple that married too soon and probably shouldn’t have gotten together in the first place.  In that regard, it’s a story that much of America will find very familiar.  So while Titanic 2 it isn’t, this is still a very good film that should find a very loyal audience.

What makes it a good film is more than just the story.  The acting by everyone is award-worthy and there is an exceptional chemistry, as you might expect, from Kate and Leo in both the way they love and hate each other. 

The production is also worth mentioning.  Cinematographer Roger Deakins (who also shot this year’s Doubt and The Reader) presents the tale with a crisp, stunning look that adds another dimension to the film.  And with the haunting score by Thomas Newman and the theatrical directing of Sam Mendes, this is a movie that I would not be surprised to see getting a nod for best picture at the Oscars this year. 

    Taken from the Tony Award-winning Broadway play by the same writer/director, Doubt is just as powerful on the big screen as it was on stage.  And just like on the stage, it’s the performances more than anything else that impress.  Here, Streep and Hoffman are terrific as they try to figure out how to take the other one down without damaging themselves.  Even the supporting cast turn in remarkable performances.  We could very well see three or maybe even four Oscar nominations for acting come from this film.

    While I’m not sure how much of this film is fictional and how much is “based on a true story,” I do know that this event took place and watching this movie constantly makes you wonder what would have happened if it were successful.  Sorry for the spoiler – but the plan didn’t exactly work.  This “what if” scenario kept playing in my head throughout and even after the film and for that reason, I have to admit the film was successful.  It truly does make you think.

    As for the performances, I think they were all fine – even Cruise’s.  Many are put off by the American accents by some, British by others, and German by a few.  Singer here uses an effect taken from Hunt for Red October by having the film start in the native tongue and then switch to English.  Distracting accents or not, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.

      I was also impressed by the production values of the film.  This is a good-looking film that is well-paced thanks to the talent of its director and production team.

    One thing that director Baz Luhrmann is good at is creating a beautiful and unique looking film.  Australia, the movie, is full of color and life with great sets and terrific aesthetics.  There are many hauntingly beautiful scenes here including an amazing set piece involving a sabotaged cattle drive.  And speaking of beautiful, you can’t ask for a better looking couple than Jackman and Kidman.  If it were as simple as just putting these two together with a few big scenes, then this could be an A+ film.

    Unfortunately, there are many things wrong with this film.  First and foremost, this is a confusing movie to watch.  I finally got it towards the end, but the first act merely introduces the main characters when it should be setting up the story so that we as an audience can clearly understand what’s going on.  For about 45 minutes, I was completely lost.  To make matters worse, the film was much longer than it needed to be, leaving us to stare at slow-moving scenes that brought the pacing to a droll.  

    I was also disappointed with the overall story.  Not only was it confounding at times, but the dialogue was over-the-top as were the characters.  I’ll choose now to say that I really hate that Jackman’s character, the drover, was simply named Drover.  There is such little intimacy between the romantic couple that she never calls him by his real name, like she doesn’t even know it, and rather just refers to him as Drover for the entire movie.  There are many other little annoyances throughout that just made me roll my eyes rather than enjoy the film.