That's 3 Hours of My Life I Won't Get Back...

Rating: 1/10 (26 May 2008)

I won't bore you with plot details or spoilers. I'm sure it's been covered sufficiently at this point.
First, in his defense, DDL did a fine job in the lead role. Some of it was a bit over the top, but within the limitations of the material he had to work with, Lewis did turn in a good performance. The cinematography was beautiful as well.
Aside from that however, this was a wretched little film. Hollywood is trying really hard these days to come up with material of *substance* I suppose... So any film that is deemed to be an "epic" is treated with a "serious" score. The problem is, and I suppose this is the first film where I've experienced this, Greenwood's score was so awful and pretentious that it actually distracted me from the film itself. It was impossible to eke any enjoyment out of this film with the constant cacophony of chaotic nonsense chattering along in the "background". I suppose this was a feeble Hollywood attempt to impart "importance" to this cartoonish muckraking tale from the early 20th century. Some of it seemed an attempt to add "awe" or "mystery" to the plot- much like the mix of classical and avant-garde that was used in the score for 2001. Well Mr. Greenwood, you are no Ligeti, and Mr. Anderson, you are no Kubrick.
I would suggest turning down the sound and turning on the close-captioning to truly enjoy this film...