I am shocked...
For once, a Peter Strauss film that has not been interesting in the slightest.
This is one of those that I'd call 'pocket money' films, in that the lead actors usually only sign up because they need some extra spends for that second yacht, or something. But being a bit of a fan of Peter Strauss, I know he tends to take roles based on the script and whether the role appeals. Him being quite a philanthropist and this essentially being a film about saving whales, I can see why he took it. I suspect the same from the likes of Richard Widmark, too.
I only picked it up because it has Peter Strauss in it. As a film overall, I think it fails to deliver. The supporting characters are quite one-dimensional and serve as plot vehicles only. The main cast are fairly single-tracked and there's almost no character development.
What threw me the most is the lack of dynamic between Charlie Lyndon and his family. There's a nice scene at the beginning which does set him up as having a bit of a loner mindset, but for the rest of the film it's like they were completely superfluous aside from a couple of scenes where they just wanted him to give up and go home. For a married man, I'd have thought he'd rely more on his family for support, rather than have them hanging around while he goes off on a crusade... but maybe that was the point.
There was more of a dynamic between Lyndon and the doctor. Indeed, at one point I thought this would be the start of an affair between them and the final parting shows this might have been the case.
I found the dialogue clichéd and unimaginitive, with the acting that delivered it utterly stilted. If I were to guess, I'd say the actors were forced to stick rigidly to some swiftly written script and not given a single inch within which to actually act. I've seen other works by each of the main cast and I know they both have done and later did do far better than this.
Overall, the film works well enough for, say, a Sunday afternoon and it has that feel of a 1980s straight-to-video release. Perhaps good to watch with young children. But beyond that, there are many, many other Peter Strauss films more worthwhile.
For once, a Peter Strauss film that has not been interesting in the slightest.
This is one of those that I'd call 'pocket money' films, in that the lead actors usually only sign up because they need some extra spends for that second yacht, or something. But being a bit of a fan of Peter Strauss, I know he tends to take roles based on the script and whether the role appeals. Him being quite a philanthropist and this essentially being a film about saving whales, I can see why he took it. I suspect the same from the likes of Richard Widmark, too.
I only picked it up because it has Peter Strauss in it. As a film overall, I think it fails to deliver. The supporting characters are quite one-dimensional and serve as plot vehicles only. The main cast are fairly single-tracked and there's almost no character development.
What threw me the most is the lack of dynamic between Charlie Lyndon and his family. There's a nice scene at the beginning which does set him up as having a bit of a loner mindset, but for the rest of the film it's like they were completely superfluous aside from a couple of scenes where they just wanted him to give up and go home. For a married man, I'd have thought he'd rely more on his family for support, rather than have them hanging around while he goes off on a crusade... but maybe that was the point.
There was more of a dynamic between Lyndon and the doctor. Indeed, at one point I thought this would be the start of an affair between them and the final parting shows this might have been the case.
I found the dialogue clichéd and unimaginitive, with the acting that delivered it utterly stilted. If I were to guess, I'd say the actors were forced to stick rigidly to some swiftly written script and not given a single inch within which to actually act. I've seen other works by each of the main cast and I know they both have done and later did do far better than this.
Overall, the film works well enough for, say, a Sunday afternoon and it has that feel of a 1980s straight-to-video release. Perhaps good to watch with young children. But beyond that, there are many, many other Peter Strauss films more worthwhile.