Grand, yet not great.

Rating: 7/10 (30 August 2010)

The most successful of David Lean's films in terms of popular appeal, Dr Zhivago provides us a picturesque view into the upheaval of the Bolshevik Revolution as well as the lives left in its wake. But unlike other popular Lean films, this one would have us believe its a romance about anything else. The political and military conflict serves as the backdrop rather than the driving force of the film. Omar Sharif plays an idealistic doctor/poet orphaned at an early age and we pick up with his story as he is about to begin a general practice in Moscow just before WWI. He is from the upper class yet doesn't seem politically active and initially doesn't take a stance either for or against the Bolsheviks. But we know he's a good man as one night he goes out into the cold and tries to care for some Bolshevik demonstrators who have been run down into the street by a cavalry detachment. We see a kindness in this man when indifference might have been more expected from someone from his class. One Christmas Eve, he witnesses a most beautiful woman walk into a fancy gathering and shoot her lover. The woman, played handsomely by Julie Christie, becomes the object of his desires for the balance of the film....
The film lumbers along from one elaborate setting to the next through the span of the next several years. After WWI and the revolution, there is the Russian Civil War to deal with, and one thing after another seems to keep Sharif and Christie apart. So much so, that you wonder where the romance is in this supposed romantic picture. Both are married and have children with other people, and end up sharing little screen time together. One is reminded of the perils of having a romance set during a time of war. The people who are supposedly in love just don't get to spend much time together. Cold Mountain and Atonement would be other examples of the problems with wartime romance films. Characters appear and disappear inexplicably for most of the film. They have changes of heart that are difficult to figure out, and many of their actions defy logic. Why for example does the good doctor fail to follow either of the women he loves, even after being given the chance? Why must he stay in Russia up to his bitter end in the middle of a street? Lots of things to ponder with this script.
Despite the problems with the story, Lean does what he did best in other areas. The film is quite beautiful to look at. It also paints a frightening portrait of life in Russia during these times. Hard to imagine Czarist rule was any less just than Bolshevik rule. The sets look real enough. There are many fine performances. Rod Steiger steals every scene he's in, even if we don't often have a clue who's side he's on. Look for Klaus Kinsky in an earlier role as a rabble rouser on a train. And Alec Guinness provides a classy performance and some helpful narration when he's given the chance. It's a long epic filled with good little moments, but overall you may wonder what all the fuss was about. 7 of 10 stars.
The Hound.