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Reviews
The Real Jane Austen (2002)
Satisying Portrayal
I agree whole-heartedly with Chris Holdridge's comments abut this program. Being something of an Austen fanatic and having read the Letters and other reliable sources, it was delightful to see Ms. Austen so beautifully brought to life. I am writing this the morning after seeing 2007's "Becoming Jane". Although I knew that the plot of the latter film was going to be fairly unbelievable, I was disappointed that Anne Hathaway's dull portrayal of Austen fell so far short of the mark. For obvious reasons, I can't say I know the real Jane Austen, but from what I've read, Gillian Kearney's performance in The Real Jane Austen is both believable and satisfying: intelligent, bright, perky, and funny.
MDA (2002)
Excellent ensemble performances of intelligent scripts
My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed MDA for the first two seasons. (The less said about the third season the better.) MDA is Medical Defence Australia, an insurer for doctors. Kerry Armstrong leads an excellent cast as a doctor working alongside MDA lawyers, headed by an ultimately endearing curmudgeon played by Shane Bourne in a dramatic turn from his usual comedic roles. Jason Donovan plays the plaintiff's attorney. Their characters are well-written, interesting, and solidly performed. The supporting cast is excellent. Although Armstrong left the cast part way thru the second season, the introduction of strong new characters played by Angie Milliken and Felix Nobis held our interest. Milliken won an Austrlian Film Institue award for her role. The stories were generally interesting and presented the difficult subject of medical malpractice insurance with considerable care. No black-and-white portrayals of medical practitioners or lawyers. Well deserving of the critical acclaim it got.
Only Love (1998)
Pleasant - But Overly Long - Entertainment
My wife and I watched the film over two nights and wish it had been cut by an hour or so. The padding that is too often part of made-for-TV movies was all too obvious and, by the end, we were getting very tired of Sylvia's clinging and the 'meaningful' looks. The film belongs to Marisa Tomei and, to a lesser extent to Rob Morrow who create engaging characters who save the film from its plot excesses. We had only seen Tomei once previously, in 'My Cousin Vinny'. We recognize that many found her work in that movie very funny, but we thought her character was annoying at best. Her portrayal of Evie in 'Only Love' is refreshing. Honorable Mentions to Paul Freeman (who we know from 'Monarch of the Glen')and Jeroen Krabbé ('Prince of Tides' and 'The Fugitive') who salvaged characters who would have been hopelessly stereotypical in lesser hands.
Jane Eyre (1996)
Disappointing
When My wife and I saw the credits to Franco Zeffirelli and Hugh Whitemore, we were eager with anticipation. Zeffirelli has given us some incredible version of some of the Shakespeare plays and Whitemore created one of my favorite films, "Stevie". We were a bit nervous about the prospect of watching William Hurt play Rochester but, having enjoyed his "Children of a Lesser God" and "Broadcast News", we were hopeful.
Oh, well. There are actors who can deliver wonderfully expressive, understated performances - Amanda Burton and Colin Firth come to mind - and others who are simply wooden, as William Hurt is in this film.
The early scenes were well done and promised much. John Wood, Geraldine Chaplin, and Amanda Root were marvelous at the Lowood Three, although Anna Paquin was disappointing as the young Jane. We never believed we were watching a real person but, rather, a young actor in over her head and/or poorly directed.
Charlotte Gainsbourg is simply marvelous at the adult Jane. She is eminently believable as someone able to survive her childhood thru strength of personality and character. Joan Plowright is great fun to watch, as always, as Mrs Fairfax, a performance that calls to mind her equally wonderful job in "Enchanted April". As other reviewers have noted, there were many fine performances by the supporting cast, excepting only Elle MacPherson. Gawd. Billie Whitelaw and Josephine Serre were particularly good.
The final scenes did not live up to the promise of earlier parts of the movie. Hurt's performance was a major problem, but so to was some obvious haste in getting thru the story in under two hours. It can be done, as evidenced by the George C. Scott/Susannah York version.
Shall We Dance? (2004)
Enjoyable but Lopez ...
In "Shall We Dance, Richard Gere has taken a page from the 'James Stewart' book and has created a sympathetic, engaging 'everyman'. Susan Sarandon is fun to watch, as always, and the supporting players create wonderful characters and moments. The fun of the film is maintained right to the end and doesn't fall prey to pretension. HOWEVER, having gotten addicted to the Australian version of "Dancing with the Stars", my wife and I simply did not believe that Jennifer Lopez's character had ever been a top professional dancer. Adequate for a singer/celebrity, but not otherwise. And mostly wooden acting from her, as well. Sigh. The one exception is a scene where she demonstrates the passion that can bring Latin dances to life.
Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)
Eye Candy
Other reviewers have commented on the visual impact of this film. As admirers of Vermeer's work, both my wife and I were in visual heaven throughout. As for the other aspects of the film, we were both reminded of the sexual tension of another great, understated film, "Remains of the Day". We had seen "Lost in Translation" and were not impressed with either the film or Johansson's work in it. Consequently, her efforts in "Pearl Earring" came as a very pleasant surprise. Colin Firth, as always, was excellent.
For us to give 10 out of 10, a film has to grab us emotionally, to cause a catch in the throat or the start of a tear. "Pearl Earring" did not quite get to that level, but it was close.
Cast Away (2000)
An excellent Robinson Crusoe variant
I've always been intrigued with Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe", particularly the importance of the items that Crusoe salvaged from the shipwreck, items that Crusoe could not have made himself and which make his survival and the relative elegance of the life he built for himself quite plausible. The real-life inspiration for Crusoe was one Alexander Selkirk who, in 1704, choose to remain on one of the Juan Fernandez islands - four hundred miles from the Chilean coast - rather than continue on a voyage with a captain and on a ship he did not trust. Selkirk was left with bedding, a firelock rifle, some powder, bullets, tobacco, a hatchet, a knife, a kettle, a Bible, his mathematical instruments, and some books. Selkirk's four years on his own were a bit more austere than Crusoe's fictional life, in large measure because of his relatively meager stock of good quality tools. Selkirk also lost a lot of his social skills.
I was interested to see how Cast Away was going to solve the tool issues and how they would deal with a person living on his own for a long period of time. The solutions were simply marvelous: ice skates, volleyball, etc. Tom Hanks is superb in the role.
And as a bonus, the castaway's return home is a fascinating part of the story. The driveway scene between Hanks and Helen Hunt is very powerful and reminds me of the great Emma Thompson/Anthony Hopkins 'book' scene from "Remains of the Day". Highly recommended.