Philosophical and absolutely awe-inspiring.

Rating: 10/10 (6 August 2008)

Stanley Kubrick's creative vision on 1975's Barry Lyndon is clearly out of the mind of a genius; the film looks and almost (note almost) acts like it was a painting, the camera is placed thoroughly as a long-shot in which the audience overlooks the events with just as much attention on the beautiful landscape in the background or the brilliant period detail put down to work here, as on the actual actions going on; and the actual actions is the rise and fall of Redmond Barry, three hours of ups and downs that spans itself over years and naturally acts like an epic biography. And the useful narrative voice-over keeps up with the story, because to me it seems as if Kubrick was just as much interested in telling the story with eyes for the gorgeous, idyllic and detailed, as he was to letting us under Barry Lyndon's skin - something we somehow really don't. No other than Kubrick could have done this with such a elegant pace or artistic self-awareness.
And somehow these costume-dramas tend to put most of its ambition in its production design - but few really tend to succeed with combining this with an interesting storyline. Sofia Coppola's 'Marie Antoinette' was a fresh breath and new-take at this genre, but it flawed in its narration, especially towards the end - Barry Lyndon never flaws. It's slow but surprisingly entertaining rhythm seems to capture you right off the start, and the dazzlingly beautiful shots of both interior and exterior locations are Kubrick's most gorgeous. Barry Lyndon is like a moving painting - and feels like a three-hour gorgeous experience of a man whose principals in life is to have a continuous development and progression, and with this comes success and failure.