A strong marriage tragedy with some minor flaws

Rating: 8/10 (17 April 2009)

This is the first review I write here - that doesn't have to mean it's going to be a bad one. The thing I'll try here is to show what I would've done differently if I had been the director. Intrigued - then read on! The strong things: the camera department has made a good show - along with some OK music it makes the film very moody overall. That's one good thing. Then, the performances are mostly quite strong - but there are a few exceptions, I will cover later. The dialogues are mostly believable and the script holds enough changes to keep us intrigued.
Here is what I would have made differently: 1) I would have changed some actors. The girl Frank has an affair with, is simply much less attractive than his beautiful wife, for most men, so that is not believable at all. She wasn't such a special character, too.
2) Another acting thing: the woman of the other marriage coupled played beyond bad. So: either changing the actress or trying one's best to get a passable performance.
3) I would have changed one line: that "Leo" didn't know "Kate" wasn't in Paris. When you are married, you should know about such a thing, so that is NOT realistic.
4) There was a scene where the charismatic "crazy" man was completely blurred despite talking. Could have been a tried way to do sth. original, but what is original isn't necessarily good. That's the only weak thing about the cinematography, though.
5) Some non-linear time changes, e. g. going back, or foreshadowing would have made the film even more interesting. I probably would have changed the script here a bit, but it is okay how it is.
6) In my mind there is another thing I don't remember. If I saw it a second time, there would maybe be more thing I notice that would be better off changed. Oh, maybe that there weren't enough close ups in such an intense, "closed" kind of drama, but it was another thing I tried to remember.
Overall, a fine film with some flaws that aren't quite tragic enough to leave me feel the film I just saw was mediocre. It HAS the typical Mendes-feel, although he hasn't quite made a lot films yet. Looking forward to seeing more, though.
This is an 8.4 for me, so not nine, but really a bit better than the average eight. Can I recommend this movie? Yes, a lot.