A perfectionist director comes close to achieving his goal

Rating: 10/10 (9 October 2012)

Common opinion has it that this is perhaps the most exquisitely beautiful film ever made. It is certainly the most beautiful I have seen. After the first half hour I was doubtful if the level of quality could be maintained throughout; it was.
The story takes place in the second half of the eighteenth century and traces the history of one Redmond Barry, a man of modest birth who rises to marry a baroness, Lady Lyndon, only to later lose it all. This comment is not a spoiler, since a narrator frequently tells us what is about to happen and the on-screen titles:
Part I. By What Means Redmond Barry Acquired the Style and Title of Barry Lyndon.
Part II. Containing an Account of the Misfortunes and Disasters Which Befell Barry Lyndon.
take away any major suspense.
The story is told in a series of episodes, each one perfectly composed and paced. I am in awe of how much time must have gone into making this. The research on period details and dress had to be extensive. The battle scene between the English and French armies was stunning, involving hundreds of actors all dressed in full uniform. This reminded me of the battle scene in "Spartacus" between Spartacus and the Roman armies of Crassus, only the armies had rifles this time around. Kubrick knows how to stage such scenes--the battle scene is just one of many I watched again after having seen the whole movie. It is not surprising that there are long time gaps between Kubrick movies.
This is one of the few movies that fully engaged me even though I did not have a strong emotional commitment to the main characters. I was captivated by a presentation that has the feel of a dispassionate scientific investigation, it's like I was viewing specimens under a microscope.
In witnessing the arc of Barry's entire life the movie drives home how we are all shaped by random events and our emotions, neither of which we have much control of. As the narrator asks, what would Barry's life have been if he had not fallen for Nora? What if he had been able to control his behavior toward Lord Bullingdon? Questions we all ask ourselves: what would my life have been if I had done this, or not done that, or if some event had not happened?
Ryan Oneal does not have an enormous range as an actor, but he is well cast in his role here, since Barry is externally passive. This is not to say that he is emotionless: he precipitated a duel over his love for Nora, he came to the aid of a comrade in battle, he loved his son, he violently attacked Lord Bullingdon and fired into the ground as a point of honor in his duel with Bullingdon. I was impressed by how well Oneal carried off the boxing scene, later to find out that he had been an amateur boxer as a younger man.
The musical score plays an essential role; the movie would lose much of its impact without it. Period classical pieces are perfectly chosen to enhance the experience. After having seen this movie who will ever forget the Andante movement from Schubert's Piano Trio no. 2, or the Sarabande from Handel's Keyboard Suite in D minor?
Kubrick cannot be accused of producing movies that are variations on a theme--every one is a unique work of art. It is hard to imagine what current director would have what it takes to gamble on making a visionary movie like "Barry Lyndon." The only movie in recent memory that I can think of that could be in this category is Malick's, "Tree of Life."