Not "Best Picture" Material By A Long Shot . . .

Rating: 6/10 (24 February 2015)

Well, I thought the other negative reviews were right. If you've actually seen great movies, then you can see how this one doesn't even come close. That's even true with "off-beat" movies, like this one. Which is better - this or BEING THERE? THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS? THE ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF A SPOTLESS MIND? DR. STRANGELOVE? 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY? A CLOCKWORK ORANGE? The list goes on . . .
Reviewers say this movie is "pretentious" because that is true. Ironically, this is true despite its theme, which is supposed to be an actor/director's search for artistic truth. As you watch this movie, you get the feeling that the filmmaker is deliberately trying to impress you (or somebody) with cutesy gimmicks in various forms, rather than just make the best possible movie he can.
I also agree with various user comments that a lot of the dialog is weak (if not also just plain unattractive) and the actors' performances become irrelevant when the subject matter doesn't reach the feelings of the viewer. At the one-hour mark, I found myself starting to look at my watch to see how much longer this would go on. The bottom line is, for all the cutesy gimmicks, this just doesn't work for way too many viewers. The fact that industry insiders claim to get a lot out of the story doesn't cure that.
That said, although I was tempted to do like so many other articulate reviewers have done and give it a solitary one star in an effort to drag down its seemingly incomprehensible 8.1 rating (at this juncture, at least) to something more reasonable, in the end I decided to be intellectually more rigorous and gave it a six, my usual rating for a movie which is technically good yet is not compelling entertainment at any level for even the most thoughtful of lay audiences.