Long on production value, thin on story

Rating: Null/10 (12 November 2007)

Too much story told in too little time. Cinematography, production design, casting are all incredible and make this picture worth seeing. Only miscast person is Russell Crowe who can play an overweight, gray haired tobacco chemist in his 50s but can't pull off a New York accent if his life depended on it. And did Crowe even get his hair cut for this movie? Denzel pulls off the bad guy and the DOP had some flair at certain points. Midway thru the movie we move through 1970s New York with mood and grist but other scenes are shot like they're out of an MOW.
If I could vote 6.5 I would but its more weighted towards a 6 than a 7. Most of all, its so disappointing. Anytime you can shoot a period movie in New York AS New York with apparently unlimited money with all the time for casting and you come up with this you've got to be disappointed. The whole Kramer vs Kramer subplot with Crowe's character and his ex-wife could have been left on the cutting room floor. My guess is that with Crowe doing so many Ridley Scott films in a row that he's got too much power on set and in the editing room. Combine that with a director with limited narrative skills and you've got a loser. Crowe steals the scene near the end where they finally meet face to face and I'm sure if it was edited differently, it easily could have been Denzel's scene to steal.