As with all Kubrick movies we're dealing with a cold, detached story of a man searching for his own identity.

Rating: 10/10 (2 March 2002)

Very much a film of two halves, the first chronicling the rise of Redmond Barry, and the second dealing with the fall of the now appointed Barry Lyndon. This is a similar structure device applied by Kubrick, notably in A Clockwork Orange and later in Full Metal Jacket, both of which depicted the long development process of an individual at odds with his society and surroundings. The parallels between Barry, Alex and Private Joker are staggering, from the cynicism and underhanded intelligence, they each, somehow manipulated their way from common rogue, to a character with reasonable standing within the structural society of the film.

The second Act is by far the strongest part of the film, because it is by this stage that we begin to feel empathy for Barry, but it is also the part of the film, which differs greatly from those other Kubrick masterpieces. For example, A Clockwork Orange showed our hero return to his murderous ways, cured by the state that originally imprisoned him for his crimes, whereas Full Metal Jacket showed the platoon soldier on, in both instances we got the impression that the film may be over for us but the characters had a long way to go. This isn't the case with Barry Lyndon. Although it may be argued that Barry's "luck of the Irish" lifestyle may still have some excitement left in it, there is the feeling that we have all ready been privy to the best part, that no matter what happens next for him will not reach the same unbelievable fortune and misfortune that has followed him through the course of the film.
Kubrick plays with notions of loyalty, love, power, deceit, war, honesty and nobility with Barry Lyndon, never allowing the film to flag or become tiresome. As much a film of technicality as it is performance (as with all Kubrick), it was to be the film that would set the visual staple for subsequent period films The Dualists, Dangerous Liaisons and Amadeus. Kubrick's approach to filming in Barry Lyndon is like filming renaissance paintings, employing the long zoom in's/zoom out's to show us the necessary information, never merely cutting away to an object. This is so rare nowadays, with cuts in films getting quicker and quicker, Kubrick manages to condense everything of importance of those times (fashion, architecture, music) and fill every corner of the frame, and the recurring theme of Handel's Sarabande is hauntingly evocative.
The performances are strong, given Kubrick's standing as a visual film-maker, with Ryan O' Neil giving a fine performance, along with Leonard Rossiter, Patrick Magee, Marisa Berenson, and Leon Vitali ensures that acting is of the same calibre as the cinematography, and O' Neil giving the standout of his career (even with the accent). An overwhelmingly beautiful film that should rank amongst Kubrick's greatest, which has somewhere along the lines been sadly forgotten. With a deep emotion and wonderful moments, Kubrick's film version of Barry Lyndon has that rare power to restore the love of film-making to any jaded film fan. 10/10