Artistic merit but..

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2006)

It was perhaps brave of Hollywood to produce this movie given the antipathy of a large slice of public opinion towards the subject matter, indeed perhaps many thought the conclusion was just (though I doubt those people saw this movie).
It was enjoyable and thought provoking with brilliant cinematography, acting and direction but the only thing that made it sad was we all like happily ever after - which we didn't get.
It was difficult to have have empathy (particularly for Ennis) who had imposed his weakness and repression upon the relationship. I understand that that standing up for yourself is sometimes hard especially given the environment but the relationship suffered the worst of consequences without even doing so.
What message does this send out? I'm not sure. It could be read in different ways, but surely if this was a work of art the message should have been less opaque, if however it wasn't art then it simply wasn't entertaining enough.
With such mixed messages and a lack of inspiring real emotional empathy it is just a pretty film. It's good, thought provoking, but whatever it tries to do it doesn't quite do it. Better luck next time.
Worth a watch but not the film of the year.