I was pleasantly surprised!

Rating: Null/10 (4 March 2002)

When I first heard of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, I thought, "Great, another boring, awful love story. I hate Penelope Cruz. I hate Nicholas Cage. I hate sappy, sentimental love stories!" When I heard that Christian Bale was in it, I was interested. I have been obsessed with Bale ever since I saw him in Newsies, and have been following his career closely. This was one of the few movies of his I hadn't seen, so I rented it. And I was pleasantly surprised! The movie is laden with tender, sweet scenes on the backdrop of beautiful Cephallonia (I think that's the island). The visuals and cinematography are spectacular. The story is rich with the beauty of the island, and the charm of the natives. I really enjoyed the scenes of dancing and Greek parties. The leading stars are great, I have to admit. Nicolas Cage plays his part as Captain Corelli wonderfully. He has that innocence and starry-eyed romanticism that carries the role. And Penelope Cruz, who I thought had no acting ability, shines as Pelagia, the simple, beautiful girl, daughter of the town doctor. She is believable and gorgeous. :) And Christian Bale, my favorite actor of all time, has much more screentime than I initially thought- it was great! He is awesome, as per usual (and looking mighty fine, might I add ). I found his scenes believeable as well. His talent goes beyond words. :) All in all, CCM is a sweet, simple movie with plenty of powerful scenes. If you don't like love stories, give it a try. If you don't like Penelope Cruz, give it a try. And if you're pretty sure that you're ready to travel to Greece, definitely check this out!