Very good

Rating: 8/10 (19 February 2009)

I must be honest, I was ready to dislike this film. Notwithstanding the intriguing premise, the mixed reviews I had read had me expecting a degree of cleverness for its own sake, slowness, and excessive sentimentality.
Well, it is clever, particularly technically. It is a long film - much time taken to tell what is essentially a small story, notwithstanding the fact that it spans over 80 years - but the telling is leisurely rather than slow. But it is never sentimental. Emotional, yes, but never sentimental.
I was thoroughly engaged throughout, and came out having enjoyed it a great deal more than I had expected to. Among the parts that I enjoyed were Tilda Swinton's unfulfilled Englishwoman (and I especially liked the late, and unexpected, capstone to her story arc) and the engagement with the U-Boat.
Pitt and Blanchett are both excellent, as you'd expect, but everyone else is pretty good too. The visuals are also first rate - not so much as regards the ageing effects and makeup (though they are astonishing) more as regards the period and location detail).
Nice to note that Twist and Shout was the actual Ed Sullivan live recording - and it sounded really good over the cinema sound system! My one major criticism is the sound in the first half hour or so - I found it really difficult to make out the dialogue, although it improved greatly from there on.
And the sadness - which was built into the story from the very start - wasn't about the deaths of the two main characters, it was about how short a time these two people had together and the tragic - but right - decision that Banjamin took when Caroline was small.
An excellent film.