"Sex in a tub... THAT doesn't work!"

Rating: 10/10 (1 June 2012)

I'm sure that we have all seen the episode of Seinfeld where Elaine(Julia Louis Dreyfuss) can't stand the film The English Patient, and because she hates it, everyone turns on her. I was a little curious for years on just what it was like. Now I have seen it, and while I can't say that I would turn on her, I will say that she was wrong.
The film revolves around a burned victim(Ralph Feinnes) who is dying, and as he dies, he reflects on the experience of his life that made him most happy, and just how that happiness vanished. Whilst doing that, more of this man's background information is released to the sweet American nurse(Juliette Binoche in her Oscar winning role) and a stranger(Willem Dafoe) who claims that this man ruined his life.
The English Patient is a beautiful film with so many great qualities, even if it does go on for too long. The late Anthony Minghella's film has beautiful cinematography and spectacular attention to detail. The way his characters are unraveled, and the way the love scenes are just marvelous.
Feinnes is terrific. You really feel for him, and in the end he may leave you feeling really depressed. Kristin Scott Thomas is also terrific as the one thing in his life that made him happy, and Binoche gives just the right amount of sweetness to deserve her Oscar. Excellent performances.
Overall, The English Patient is a powerful film experience. Did it deserve Best Picture? Maybe not. It was against Fargo, and my favorite film of that year, The People Vs. Larry Flynt, was not nominated. But I am not going to say that it deserved to go home empty handed either.
A