Wonderful Story, Bland Movie

Rating: 5/10 (11 July 2013)

A sweeping, cinematic, and bombastic take on the life and achievements of Mr. Gandhi. The film relies entirely on Hollywood clichés, simplifying the events of the period, the motives of those involved, and the moral and political complexities of this time period. This cartoonish version of Mr. Gandhi hobbles around India, spinning his wheel and always saying the exactly-correct thing at the exactly-correct time. None of the other characters seem to catch on to this eerie infallibility, however, and contradict him at every turn (or at least when it provides Gandhi with a chance to correct them). Gandhi's strained grandfather-humor, included as a blatant attempt to "humanize" him, gets old quick, and by the end, becomes an annoying self-parody. Then you have the issue of the doe-eyed women that surround him (Mrs. Gandhi, Mirabehn), who say very little the entire film. It seems as if their only real character trait is a total adoration for Mr. Gandhi. Moral tropes are used and re-used, and no complex moral questions are ever introduced. British bad. Indians good.
Even worse, the film stands as an insult to all those besides Gandhi who worked tirelessly to make India free. No other leaders are ever mentioned - it's all Gandhi and his buffoonish politician friends, who only exist to stand at a foil to the clear wisdom of Gandhi. It all becomes a little ridiculous and repetitive after a while. It's sad, since the performance by Ben Kingsley is well-crafted. The script is simply not good.