Relish the Age and Language of 'Barry Lyndon'

Rating: Null/10 (7 March 2010)

Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" came after "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "A Clockwork Orange".
The film receives only average ratings when graded by large groups of users, such as its 3.6/5 stars on Netflix from 163,055 voters at the time of this review. But the smaller group of voters on IMDb (37,220) give it a higher score with 8.1/10 stars.
Film critics give it higher scores. The current average at MRQE is 87/100 (the highest of its ratings) while Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 7.8 average (similar to IMDb users).
I highly suggest this film. If you watch it with patience and allow yourself to take in the lovely language, the protocols of the gun fight duels, the beautiful life of luxury of the rich, the tactics of the spy and the gambler, Mr. Lyndon, then you will likely find yourself a fan of the 18th Century and of the vividly visionary director Stanley Kubrick!
I personally relished every moment of it once it got going. I didn't know what to think of it for the first 15 minutes, but then I started taking in the beautiful landscapes, the verbose dialog, and the existentialist interpretation by the director.
I found myself mimicking the stately language of the characters. Even the lowest of criminals talks like a king or queen of England. Being robbed was never so devilishly polite! Such fanciness often gives criminals an edge when used in other films, as it did with Hannibal Lecter.
I should point out, however, before the reader gets the wrong idea, that Stanley Kubrick, the film's vividly visionary director, most certainly does not portray any of the characters of the age as good or evil. He merely notes that the age had its fair fine share of good and bad points like any other!
Well, I'm not very good at mimicking its dialog. I just know that I loved it. That is, with the reservation that the storyline leaves the audience a bit dry and disconnected as if the events unfolding do so with little meaning. But, perhaps, that is intentional and realistic interpretation by the director. It certainly isn't a tear-jerker or a bombastic period piece in the style of a "Braveheart" (1995).
Yet it has an interesting sarcastic side. We hear the narrator tell us in advance that the main character will not enjoy the battle he's about to partake in or the misfortunes he's about to suffer. So you sit there waiting for him to fall off a cliff or something! Sometimes the reaction is immediate -- a bunch of soldiers drop dead on the battleground as the narrator suggested. Sometimes you have to wait as the events unfold, and then later you see Barry fall from grace.
I found myself melting at the lovely music and hoping the film would never end!
Barry Lyndon, Dir. Stanley Kubrick, 1975.