Splendor surrounds "Black Hole"

Rating: 8/10 (24 December 2005)

Basically everything and everyone in the film met or exceeded my expectations, making the overall experience much more entertaining, involving and interesting than I expected going in. I enjoyed this film very much. I was drawn in to the period feel and the social milieu except for one thing. For me, there was a black hole in the center of this film - and its name is Keira Knightley. (And I have never had a problem with her before - playing modern characters in modern settings.) Whenever the camera was focused on her, all I could think was that here was a kind of supermodel with a wry seen-it-all smile on her face - someone who lives between limousine and club and must have filmed this movie between parties. She looked drunk, drugged or both. Near the end there was a scene with a long look into her eyes close up as time passed in the room she was in. I had a very distinct feeling of "are you OK miss? can I call anyone for you?" Even her spiteful scenes of rebellion against D'Arcy (remarkably well acted by MacFayden, whom I don't recall seeing before, except he is somewhat reminiscent of the lead singer of Blur) or Lady Catherine (fully absorbingly played by Judi Densch) come across as red-faced spoiled teen-age celebrity misbehavior. There were no inner struggles evident, nothing other than impulses as far as I could see.