|
|
Rating:  - Depressing and disappointing
What's the point of studying history?, a high school student here asks. A wise man once said if we forget the mistakes of the past we are doomed to repeat them. And perhaps that is the point of this picturesque tale. The scenery is beautiful, but the advancing of the plot is contrived (throwing characters into the past as observers), and the whole exercise concludes -- unresolved -- as a smarmy, sordid little soap opera. Certainly, the sins of these characters' pasts come back to haunt them. But what do learn from that? In what directions do these characters grow? Little here worth sitting through except a fine performance by Irons and too little screen time from Ethan Hawke.
Rating:  - a beautiful underrated film
i wonder why this movie hasn't had the appreciation i think it deserves. it is beautifully shot and has a devastating story of guilt, love, redemption and a couple other underlying themes that i'm sure i forgot. oh my god, and i'm telling you the ending will send your eyes to niagra falls. totally satisfies my depressed movie jones. love this!
Rating:  - Better than I Thought
As one who considers the novel one of the great books of the Twentieth Century, I was leery of and initially disappointed by the film. On second and third viewing it seems better and better--closer to the spirit (if never the style) of the novel than at first viewing. READ THE BOOK but don't be afraid of the film... much of Graham Swift's original conception survives, and nothing with Jeremy Irons in it should be overlooked.
Rating: - A Darkly Beautiful Movie
I believe this underrated movie is one of the best of this decade. Irons could not be any better--not that I've ever seen him in a bad performance. The movie follows its own unconventional path. It journeys back in time into the lives of the protagonists and Irons' character's family. The cinemaphotography is quite good and the physical settings in the "moors" are very beautiful. Lena Headey plays her character quite well--in addition to being gorgeous. All of the actors in the movie are very good.
The movie covers the whole gamut of the dark side of life: murder, incest, lust, jealousy, abortion, etc. It's not a smiley, feel good piece of Hollywood fluff. You will not like this movie if that's what you're looking for. But if you're looking for a movie that has something to say about the human condition in an honest and moving way--this is a good bet.
Rating: - Even better than I remembered.
I saw the film before I read the book, which I loved, along with every other book by Graham Swift. My initial impression of the film, seen in the cinema, was good enough to want to read the book but I wasn't overwhelmed by either the narrative or the cinematic style. However, I recently bought the DVD version (released in Hong Kong) and this time was bowled over by how good Jeremy Irons was (by far his best performance), how faithful the film was to the spirit of the book and just how well the director's style had represented it. I was also far more overwhelmed than I was originally by the painful but, I thought, positive and optimistic ending, which had me in tears. That could be because I'd experienced similar pains and accommodations since first seeing the film, but I also think that like so many fine things "Waterland" has improved with age. If you enjoyed "Waterland" then get hold of Swift's "Ever After" and "Closing Time" (which I understand is about to be filmed). You won't be disappointed.
|
|