Elizabethtown (2005)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
OK, I just got back from seeing this and I must say that I'm really shocked. After reading various reviews and hearing from people I really wasn't expecting much but I've gotta say this is the biggest mess of a film that I've seen in a very long time.
Was the film suppose to be a drama about a son losing his father? Was it suppose to be some sort of romantic comedy? In my opinion it really seemed like Crowe wanted to make a film about a son losing his father but the studio said you have to throw in some sort of stupid romance to get more people into the theater. Well, the two sides didn't mix very well together. Even on their own both sides were seriously flawed but it made them even worse when stuck together. As others have mentioned, Dunst comes off more creepy than anything else. The first scene on the plane I kept waiting for her to pull out a knife or something. It was never really clear what the two saw in one another and the stuff over the phone didn't work at all. I also didn't understand what Crowe was going for in the father/son thing. I really couldn't tell if he (the son) was returning home because he cared for his dad or if he just did it so his mother/sister wouldn't have to go.
I personally feel it's okay to use music to "get the point across" but it's a fine line you've gotta walk to pull this off. "Secret Garden" worked well in JERRY MAGUIRE and "Tiny Dancer" worked brilliantly well in ALMOST FAMOUS but none of the music here really paid off. Perhaps it's because I didn't feel any connection between the two leads. As for the performances I really don't think it's too fair to blame them because they didn't have much to work with. I was pleased with Bloom's performance and thought he did a fine job with what he had to work with. His big "crying scene" at the end was ruined due to the way it was edited and again, the music. I think we were waiting for his character to breakdown and when it finally happened Crowe kept it in the background. As for Dunst, I'm not going to blame her too much because she did have a few charming scenes but again, the screenplay made her out more of a stalker than anything else.
GARDEN STATE was a lot better. Every good director has a bad step and I believe that's what ELIZABETHTOWN will be remembered as for Crowe. I personally think VANILLA SKY and ALMOST FAMOUS are among the best films of the decade so far and I'd probably put AF at 1 or 2. ELIZABETHTOWN just seemed like a complete disaster in the writing department. I really don't know what the movie was or what it was trying to do.
* 1/2 (out of 4)
OK, I just got back from seeing this and I must say that I'm really shocked. After reading various reviews and hearing from people I really wasn't expecting much but I've gotta say this is the biggest mess of a film that I've seen in a very long time.
Was the film suppose to be a drama about a son losing his father? Was it suppose to be some sort of romantic comedy? In my opinion it really seemed like Crowe wanted to make a film about a son losing his father but the studio said you have to throw in some sort of stupid romance to get more people into the theater. Well, the two sides didn't mix very well together. Even on their own both sides were seriously flawed but it made them even worse when stuck together. As others have mentioned, Dunst comes off more creepy than anything else. The first scene on the plane I kept waiting for her to pull out a knife or something. It was never really clear what the two saw in one another and the stuff over the phone didn't work at all. I also didn't understand what Crowe was going for in the father/son thing. I really couldn't tell if he (the son) was returning home because he cared for his dad or if he just did it so his mother/sister wouldn't have to go.
I personally feel it's okay to use music to "get the point across" but it's a fine line you've gotta walk to pull this off. "Secret Garden" worked well in JERRY MAGUIRE and "Tiny Dancer" worked brilliantly well in ALMOST FAMOUS but none of the music here really paid off. Perhaps it's because I didn't feel any connection between the two leads. As for the performances I really don't think it's too fair to blame them because they didn't have much to work with. I was pleased with Bloom's performance and thought he did a fine job with what he had to work with. His big "crying scene" at the end was ruined due to the way it was edited and again, the music. I think we were waiting for his character to breakdown and when it finally happened Crowe kept it in the background. As for Dunst, I'm not going to blame her too much because she did have a few charming scenes but again, the screenplay made her out more of a stalker than anything else.
GARDEN STATE was a lot better. Every good director has a bad step and I believe that's what ELIZABETHTOWN will be remembered as for Crowe. I personally think VANILLA SKY and ALMOST FAMOUS are among the best films of the decade so far and I'd probably put AF at 1 or 2. ELIZABETHTOWN just seemed like a complete disaster in the writing department. I really don't know what the movie was or what it was trying to do.