This movie has some pluses--it's well-acted and beautifully filmed--but the story itself is sad and depressing.
A man, Tolstoy, who teaches love and respect of others, is unable to practice such characteristics with his own wife. She, on the other hand, is manipulative and not easy to get along with.
I can't comprehend how two people who have spent 48 years together could be separated at the end of life, nor how Cherhov (sp?) insisted on keeping the wife away. Who would do that?! The one redeeming quality is that Valentin seems to recognize that love is more important than being a 'Toystoyian,' although he might be confusing sex for love.
Nothing in this movie made me glad to have seen it, other than admiring Helen Mirren's ageless grace and beauty.
A man, Tolstoy, who teaches love and respect of others, is unable to practice such characteristics with his own wife. She, on the other hand, is manipulative and not easy to get along with.
I can't comprehend how two people who have spent 48 years together could be separated at the end of life, nor how Cherhov (sp?) insisted on keeping the wife away. Who would do that?! The one redeeming quality is that Valentin seems to recognize that love is more important than being a 'Toystoyian,' although he might be confusing sex for love.
Nothing in this movie made me glad to have seen it, other than admiring Helen Mirren's ageless grace and beauty.