Terrible actually

Rating: 2/10 (20 December 2008)

How do you have a stellar cast: Rickman, Nighy, Firth, Thompson, Neeson, Knightly, Grant, Linney, etc. And have such a terribly depressing, dull, boring movie???!
I really looked forward to this mostly because of the cast. It was actually embarrassing watching them play out a script that was surely pounded out by a group of attention deficit apes. Whoever wrote this movie had absolutely no concept on what romance apparently is. It's more a depressing demonstration on the effects of keeping your mouth shut, staying together out of habit or for the children, and carnal lust over someone with the depth of a parking lot puddle.
There was absolutely nothing redeeming, funny, or romantic about any of the stories or people involved in them, and the one couple (Rickman & Thompson) who you remotely find interesting spend the movie building up a semi acceptable story that completely falls flat without any passion or resolution. Rickman contemplates cheating, or does actually cheat (you never know) she finds out and confronts him on it, and that's it, nothing more, you never find out what happens. There's just some lame robotic like kiss at the airport. I was actually insulted.
It doesn't help that any of the couples except for Thompson & Rickman lack any chemistry together whatsoever, and even then Thomapson & Rickman are dull as dishwater.
Whomever wrote the part for Linney did a poor job. She started off good, but fell flat on her face as were forced to accept her role as an apparent forever enslaved spinster.
The tragedy is that most of these actors have either won or at least been nominated for Oscars and have actually proved their guts in romances Thompson (Sense & Sensibility), Grant (Four Weddings & A Funeral), Rickman (Truly, Madly, Deeply), Firth (Bridget Jones), Linney (The House of Mirth) need I go on?
I'll never recapture the time I spent watching this, and i'm getting upset thinking about it, but hopefully my review will help you in not wasting your time with this one. A horrible waste of a group of very talented passionate actors.