Art Is Not Just Pretty Scenery & Unhappy People

Rating: 3/10 (2 June 2005)

Lots of good stuff about this film: scenery, acting, most of the writing. The story held my interest, though the end was predictable. Renée Zellweger was fresh, terrific and funny. Jude Law acted beautifully in his long-suffering role (best take some Prozac before watching). Nicole Kidman didn't move me, but she presented a coherent character.
However, through my eyes, it didn't add up to anything fresh. Predictably, a bunch of really bad things happen and the people are all miserable. It's probably about the courage of the human heart, or some such thing. If you're having a good day, it's, "love, no matter how brief, is worth fighting for." On a down day, it's more like, "give up your romantic fantasies and get on with your f**ing life." If the message isn't important to you, and you love the craft of acting and pretty scenes, go for it. If you like romance and need a cathartic cry, try Somewhere in Time.
For me, it was just people suffering (beautifully). By the end of the film, I felt sorry for the characters and the actors. And myself.