One of the best movies this year

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2007)

Here's why this movie is different than most: it takes time to tell the story. It doesn't rush through character and plot development but takes you through the journey.
The movie doesn't tell you personal details of the characters life, it shows them. And thus it gives the viewers the opportunity to get to know the characters and to understand them. It gives the viewers the opportunity to experience the full movie and not the cliff notes versions. Most movies just don't do that anymore and I was pleasantly surprised to see it in this movie.
The direction, as always, is topnotch. The acting is unbelievable. Both Crowe and Washington have the opportunity to overact but neither does. They are both on point perfectly. Washington has the type of demanding screen presence that blows everyone else out of the water. Here's the thing with Russell Crowe, he is great at period pieces, he just has a look about him that feels like he's from another time, so this character was just perfect for him.
The movie is truly a delight, so much so, that you can forgive all the nudity and violence because it just adds to the realism the movie reaches for.