except for abraham, this is a stinker

Rating: 3/10 (11 April 1999)

I cannot believe this won the best picture oscar. Abraham is of course superb, but as for the rest of the cast I can only say that this is one of the worst acted films I have ever seen. While Mozart was impulsive, frivolous, and certainly not a saint, I was dismayed to find Hulce playing him like a total idiot. Hulce never reveals to us the intelligence beneath the mask of silliness. Great artists may sometimes be silly or half-crazy, but none of them are such complete morons. Add to this mix some really bad dialogue and the result is a scandalously overrated film.