Don't waste your time.

Rating: 2/10 (25 November 2005)

One thing that has always impressed me about Stanley Kubrick's films is the strong characters in each. In every movie of his that I've seen, there has always been one character that I feel a strong liking for, whether he is Jack in "The Shining" or Alex in "A Clockwork Orange", or even HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey". However, this film is the exception to the rule.
The main character, promising Redmond Barry, eventually degenerates into the pomposity of high society, putting his wealthy wife into debt in order to gain lordship under the advice of his once-good mother. At best, the film's plot is a warning against the evils of wealth. At it's very worst, it is a poor choice of novels for Mr. Kubrick to adapt onto the screen. The characters are static and boring, the plot disappointing, and the actors pitiful.
Forget the so-called subtlety of Ryan O'Neal. Forget the cinematic power that Stanley Kubrick holds over his fans. This film is not worth your time. It is too long, with too many plot points, for not enough reward at the end. The only reason why I even bothered to finish the movie was because I was waiting for the typical Kubrick edginess to come in and rescue the film the boring path it was leading me down. That edginess never came.
With no strong hero, and no strong villain, none of the characters spark enough interest in it's viewers to get them emotionally wrapped in the movie. A complete waste of two and a half hours.