Lacking subtlety.

Rating: 4/10 (28 January 2017)

Easy on the eye but not worthy of the hype and the Oscar nomination. An interesting story has been directed in a very heavy handed way, which to me was constantly irritating. Almost every scene is overstated to the point that, as others have said, there is a propaganda feel to the film. Did the director really need to portray every white person, bar two, as vigorously racist or anti-women, even though virtually all the characters are clearly intelligent and from well educated backgrounds? This is a film where the message would have been stronger and more credible if a degree of balance and subtlety had been added to the mix. The things I enjoyed: some strong performances by a very capable cast, a very authentic period setting, a story which is totally engaging. The thing which turned me off: the exaggeration.