Kubrick's Best Film

Rating: 10/10 (5 February 2014)

Stanley Kubrick was born to direct "Barry Lyndon" - a complete masterpiece. It is classically British in its quality, penned by William Makepeace Thackeray as a serialized picaresque novel that was cast into public view in 1844, and it took the next century for a man of the same soil to emerge and decide to bring the words to suitable life. A vital asset is Michael Hordern's voice-over: one of the best ever in cinema: possessing a measured, witty and omniscient nature .
By the film's end, it is very difficult to sympathize with Redmond Barry (a pitch-perfect Ryan O' Neal) who rises from a tough beginning in rural Ireland in the 17th century, to eventually come into receipt of a greatly comfortable life. But the central triumph here is that we receive a "God's Eye" view - with a perspective like this, the protagonist does not matter that much. Exquisite visuals inform the story from the get-go, and the background music is elegantly orchestral.
All the conflict and perspective in the first half is peppered with considerable humor .In the second half, the dramatic force comes from the vehement, articulate anger of a severely insulted heir and Barry's delusional belief that he can merrily tap-dance through high society while slaughtering all its unsaid edicts. Through all this, the calm observational tone is paired with John Alcott's beautiful framing and vistas of stately splendor -one scene after another presents like a thoughtfully played card. What remains rock-steady is the lovely perspicacity of Kubrick's directorial vision and tenor. Kubrick has rarely shown skill in depicting sentimentality but in Barry Lyndon, empowered by a narrative that awakens the genius in him, Kubrick is roused to effectively depict emotional depth - watch the last scene between Barry and his son - there is so much of tenderness in the father's "Of course I will" reassurances that it is nearly enough to atone for the butchered sentiment in his other movies.
As for sheer raw power, witness what transpires in a scene where the little son walks with hammer-soled shoes into the hall of his mother's piano performance. Kubrick takes the sac of the period drama and blows it up so rapidly that it explodes in a savage dazzling rupture of the genre's staid conventions. If all this has interested you, and if you'd still like to "demand satisfaction", it is quite likely, Sir, that 'Barry Lyndon' will give it to you.
You may read the full review and other cinema analysis at: http://www.upnworld.com/movie/view/id/52/title/Barry+Lyndon