Exquisite Cinematography, Well Acted, but Overly Sentimental and Unnecessarily Long

Rating: 6/10 (2 February 2017)

Winner of 9 Oscars and in my honest opinion one of the most overrated films in cinematic history. This should not take away from the fact that the film does beautiful locations with some stellar acting by its all star cast all under the keen directorial eye of Anthony Minghella.
Told mostly through flashbacks, the film based on the bestselling novel tells the tragic tale of a mysterious Hungarian Count and his love affair with a married Englishwoman in World War II Africa. The "patient" of the title is the Count telling his tale to the French Canadian nurse who is caring for him after a terrible accident that horrifically burned him, and also a Canadian Army Officer who is investigating the Count as part of an Intelligence operation.
The film boasts an all star cast giving some career-best performances. Playng the title "English Patient" (in his 2nd Oscar nominated role) is the wonderfully talented Ralph Fiennes as Count Almasy, a man supposedly of Hungarian nobility but whose past is so mysterious that we never learn who Almasy really is or where he came from. Fiennes is charming, brooding at times and eloquent in the role and makes the mystery surrounding his character even more compelling despite the unanswered questions about his past. Fiennes does display a formidable chemistry with costar Kristin Scott- Thomas who plays the married woman who is the object of his affections along with some minutely interesting (yet sadly wasted for all the flashbacks) scenes with fellow actors Juliette Binoche who plays his nurse and Willem Dafoe as the officer who is looking into Almasy's background.
Juliette Binoche won the film's only acting Oscar for her work as French- Canadian nurse Hanna who cares for the injured Count. The actress is subtle, soft-spoken and articulate mixed with naivety towards the dangers of the world she is living after a brutal international conflict. Hanna is still intelligent as she cares for those around her such as her patient, Officer David Caravaggio (Willem Dafoe) who is looking into her patient's past but trusts him to protect them from harm, and particularly in her relationship with Kip, a British-Indian officer stationed near the villa where Hanna and her patient are sequestered. We don't learn about Hanna's background prior to the war and its aftermath, but what we see from Binoche's portrayal Hanna is the center of the present-day narrative as she connects with those around her.
Rounding out the other two key roles are Willem Dafoe as David Caravvagio, the officer seeking out Almasy, and Kristin Scott-Thomas as Katharine Cifton, the woman whom Almasy loved. As Caravvagio, Dafoe is a smaller character than than those of Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche and Kristin Scott-Thomas (despite receiving third billing), but the character has a connection that does matter to the narrative. Fiennes's Almasy was reputed to be a spy for the Axis Powers (which we and David never learn the actual truth) and his actions lead to a horrific consequence for Caravvagio; Caravaggio is tortured and loses some digits in one of the most harrowing scenes of the film (just hearing actor Willem Dafoe's screams and barely seeing the torture unfold made me have to cover my eyes and almost scream out myself). The tension is palpable between Caravvagio and Almasy in the present as Dafoe portrays a quiet desire for revenge for the wrong inflicted on him, but also a developing sympathy for the injured shell of a man before him in addition to the protective and caring nature that David displays towards young Hanna (it is clear that he probably harbored romantic feelings for Hanna) as she hides in the villa with her patient. Actress Kristin Scott-Thomas embodies the typical proper Englishwoman as Katharine Clifton; obedient, soft-spoken, well dressed and kemped but an intelligent woman. Katharine begins the film as a loyal wife to her husband (Colin Firth) who it seems would never be an adulteress, but when she begins to spend more time with Count Almasy, Katharine starts to question where her heart truly lies. She attempts to live both ways, but must make a choice when she fears that her husband will discover her affair with Almasy. The ultimate decision she makes ends up with a steep price for both her and her lover by the film's end.
The locations are stunning throughout the film as the narrative juxtaposes from war-torn Africa to the ravaged countryside of Italy in the present. The sets are confined for the Italian locales as we are isolated with the small ragtag group of Hanna, Count Almasy, David Caravaggio and Kip with his fellow officers who patrol the perimeter to protect the other three. Contrasting the isolation is the vast scope of the African deserts and crowded villages where we see many peoples from soldiers, townsfolk, some of the central and minor characters but also so much empty space once we are traveling the desert near the end of the flashback narrative. The vastness again evokes an isolating feeling.
The film's run-time is egregiously long and plodding which is the most irritating factor of the film other than the schmaltzy romance. Sitting through nearly three hours of a love story is excruciating even with the great cinematography and good acting. This boredom might evoke memories of a classic sitcom episode where a TV character openly expressed her dismay at sitting through multiple viewings of this film. I can relate because I get so bored that I have to keep myself busy to keep from falling asleep.
A stunning masterpiece of filmmaking despite its minor flaws.