Kubrick Loyalists will love it

Rating: 8/10 (20 October 2009)

Director : Stanley Kubrick Cast : Ryan O'Neil, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee
Stanley Kubrick is my favorite director and Barry Lyndon is one of his least recognized films. The reason for it's less popularity is that the movie is very much unlike Kubrick. We get to see a different Kubrick style in this movie, and I am not complaining. To begin with, the movie is set in the 17th Century and requires costumes, sets and mannerisms of that era. Kubrick being the perfectionist he is, has taken care of every minute detail. The movie is about an Irish guy named Redmond Barry and his rags to riches and back to rags story. The central character of Redmond Barry/Barry Lyndon is a very complex character to say the least. Kubrick has explored almost all human emotions from pride, lust, love to anger, hate, betrayal, jealousy and power. Kubrick plays with the viewer in the sense that at one instance the viewer feels for Barry Lyndon and at the other instance hates him to the core. In short, the character has too many layers and inner shades, the viewer gets to explore in the course of the movie. Along with all this, Kubrick does not forget the satire he is so frequently associated with. The satirical comments are on that era and made via a narrator who narrates for the entire course of the movie. The technical aspects of the movie are brilliant. Great Cinematography which is a feature of all Kubrick movies is seen here as well. According to me, this movie has the best cinematography than all other Kubrick movies. In short, Kubrick brings 17th century United Kingdom alive on the screen.
About the acting, the lead role played by Ryan O'Neil is average to say the least. I personally felt, some other actor would have taken this movie to even greater heights. Kubrick fans will love this movie and enjoy every frame of it. Others might find the 3 hour ordeal as boring and a waste of time. Thus, I will not openly recommend it.
Rating : 8/10