Good but not great

Rating: 7/10 (22 February 2009)

Good film about the relationship of a young man who meets an older woman with whom he has an affair, little suspecting her past or how it would effect the rest of his life. Multi-Oscar nominated film is a good little drama, but one that has left me scratching my head as to it's best picture nomination.(Equally bizarre is Kate Winslett's Golden Globe win as a supporting actress when she's on screen a large chunk of the film) While I do like the film, I don't love it. I found it often as distant as the lead male character becomes. For me the problem that David Hare's script often reduces the inner conflict of the hero by having him speak not from the heart but the head. Basically, the dialog is much too clunky and it under cuts much of the rest of the emotion. Its not one of David Hare's better works (I'm a huge Hare fan and rarely has his dialog ever just sort of laid there like a dry text book). Its a good film and I do recommend it, but as as best picture contender I would discount it as not quite in the league of the other four nominees. (I'd give Winslet the edge on best actress)