Not recommended

Rating: 3/10 (13 December 2007)

OK, I'm likely to be in the minority here, but I just came home from a screening tonight, and I really disliked this movie. The main reason is Daniel Day Lewis's completely unspontaneous performance - every look, every gesture, every over-enunciated word maddened me. It is the complete opposite of what good acting should be. Sometimes an over-the-top performance can be appropriate, but Mr. Day Lewis's acting style here was pitifully ill-conceived. And what kind of accent was he trying for? It was not an American accent I've ever heard before, most particularly not for a character that was supposed to be from Wisconsin.
And the music score!! Completely inappropriate for the time and place of the story. The lead performance and the annoying music score made me almost want to run out of the theatre screaming, but I will admit that there were some redeeming qualities; the cinematography, production design, and costumes were excellent.