Solid but unspectacular ...

Rating: 7/10 (2 February 2006)

I must be the only person in the world not wowed by this film. It was a good film, with solid acting and decent cinematography. Based on what I heard about this film I expected a film as powerful as Mystic River, as well acted as A Beautiful Mind, and as beautiful to look at as A River Runs Through It. This film, to me, was none of the above. Don't get me wrong, the film is strong in all those areas, but does not excel in any. I suspect my underwhelming attitude stems from the fact that I am not awed that someone would write/produce/sell such a film in the U.S. I am too old to be shocked by this and too old to be impressed with the entire body of work simply because the lead characters are gay. In fact, I would hazard to guess that many people are afraid to criticize the film, fearful that they would be labeled homophobic. Call me ignorant, but I just don't get it. In addition, I suspect much of the kudos comes from Hollywood muckety-mucks patting one another on the back going, "gee, aren't we daring and controversial."