Acquired Taste, but Glad I Acquired It

Rating: 10/10 (17 December 2004)

I rented this on DVD from Netflix, and -- not for the first time -- I was glad to have Netflix's no deadline policy.
I hadn't seen it before, and it took me several viewings to start to realize what an extraordinary movie this is. I had a hard time paying attention, and kept getting distracted, it seemed so ponderous.
So, that ponderous pace probably makes Barry Lyndon worthy of being the commercial and popular failure it seems to have been.
But as art, it is a remarkable creation. And as an adaptation from a novel, it is a remarkable interpretation of a very interesting novel.
People find Ryan O'Neal's Barry Lyndon painfully artificial and stilted, but all that stiltedness really sets the viewer up for one of the most heart-wrenching scenes on film (his last conversation with his angelic little boy). All the words of bravado and deception are there in that conversation, but now, ironically, as Barry realizes how those war-stories pale in comparison to what he is losing. This scene has outstanding acting, outstanding direction, outstanding screenplay, outstanding art direction -- you name it.
And then, as Barry's attempt at nobility is in tatters, he has the famous duel with the stepson who hates him. And in that scene, Barry Lyndon does the first truly noble act of his entire life -- and it costs him everything.
Life is short; art is long. I'm glad I spent the time I needed to appreciate this movie, and I would recommend it to anyone who is willing to invest the time to appreciate it. But, like James Joyce or Henry James, don't expect it to be a quick read.