Beautiful Cinematography, Tough Sell Otherwise

Rating: 6/10 (22 December 2007)

The story of the NASA lenses and their use in the candlelight scenes should be enough for anyone who cares about the presentation of clever cinematography to watch this film. There are countless scenes of beauty in this film and Kubrick takes great care in presenting them in a consistent and lovely way. The biggest problem with the movie is everything else. The writing and acting seems stale at many points during the film resulting in a film which is quite a chore to review even given the luscious scenery that the cinematography gives us. If you care about the visual qualities of immersion that movie making can give you, then watch this film. If you are interested in period pieces of the 18th century, watch this film. Beyond that, it's your choice whether you wish to struggle through this epic.