Slow and Confusing

Rating: 5/10 (28 June 2012)

I guess I must be one of the very few who've not read the book or seen the TV series; I came to this completely cold, attracted by what appeared to be a stellar cast. Despite watching with considerable concentration, this movie confused me from start to finish. Whispered dialogue, flashbacks and returns transitioned so quickly and so frequently, all continuity was lost. Are we in 1955 now or 1973? Characters' motivations are barely suggested, long, drawn-out silences that only served to prove how long Gary Oldman can keep his eyes open without blinking. One of the main characters dies early on but due to the poor continuity and little frame space given to it, blink and you'd miss it. One character who we are told is dead is in fact alive, or is he? Is it important? Only if you want to know what's going on. This is no James Bond car-chase and explosion-filled extravaganza. It's a brooding, 1970s brown-out, and would be tension-filled if the poor viewer unfamiliar with the story was given half a chance to comprehend it.