Dreadfully Dull

Rating: 5/10 (14 September 2004)

I think this is a good movie, but I can't tell. I was too bored to care. I came into the movie with semi-high expectations since I had gone on a blitz of watching Best Picture winners that I hadn't seen before (Patton, The Last Emperor, Kramer Vs Kramer and The Apartment) I was truly disappointed by this and wonder why it got the thumbs up over "Reds".
Part of the problem is that the directing seems to be impassioned by the material it is presenting and there is an over emphasis on slow motion photography and echoed voices to be used as dramatic effect. In addition, I didn't really care about many, or a bit more accurately, any of the characters since they were all already pampered ivy-league kids.
The only guy I liked was Ian Holms character, the trainer of the Jewish athlete. He seemed to have his feet on the ground with a solid head on his shoulders. Also, I think they used religion to get on the good side of the public due to the fact that it oozes out of every pore of this movie's soggy skin. I'm not against religion in movies, but I think the purpose of the scriptwriter was not wholesome.
And just to make matters a bit worse, the movie insults my intelligence by repeating dialogue the characters have already said (used as narrative during a climatic or in order to "remind" me of the motivation of character. The only time this method of usage of past material used as a narrative to "remind" the audience is acceptable are mystery movies where the plot may become so convoluted you miss details along the way. This just seemed trite and lazy.
The last detail that bothered me was the use of electronic music as the film's score. I know that little ditty they play is famous but I don't think that it was appropriate due to the time the movie took place. Because of this, I was constantly reminded that the movie was made in the eighties when there was a blitz of such music out (think of 80's rock) but the fact that this movie took place in the 1920's I was constantly dragged out of the time (even though the costumes were well done). If the electric guitar hadn't been invented yet, why would you use a synthesizer?
Anyways, watch it if you want but I don't suggest it. The Academy just gave a conservative movie a title it didn't earn because "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" was too much fun and "Reds" was too controversial. Even "On Golden Pond" was better than this dribble. Think back to when "A Beautiful Mind" beat out "The Fellowship Of The Rings" or when "The English Patient" beat "Fargo".
This is a boring and thankfully forgotten movie. It's the type of movie you would dread to watch if you were forced to sit through it in school.
5 out of 10