readerjsp Reviews

Before Sunrise (1995)

Am I the only one?

[12 October 2001]

Am I the only person that found this movie incredibly tedious, pretentious and badly acted? Did I mention boring? It took me 3 installments to get through this. My mind kept wandering to thoughts like "Why is Ethan Hawke's hair so greasy" and Julie Delpy's teeth being disturbing. Not good signs.

Whoever said Ethan Hawke (was it Mrskunk?) had 2 expressions was exactly right. Most of the time he smirked. And the dialogue! Were we supposed to find it interesting? Amusing? To me, it was the musings of immature adults, and why were their musings any more interesting than yours or mine? Maybe that was the point - maybe the director was parodying the self-importance of teenagers and those slightly older. Was there any insight at all in all that talking? I couldn't find any. Not one single insight. Did you happen to notice that the whole time they talked about themselves? I include their philosophical comments, because they are about their own philosophy, not anyone else's. As far as they (and those of us who were trapped in their universe) were concerned the world did not exist. They wouldn't notice anything happening outside themselves. Could you ask for a better example of solipsism?

I can't believe people think this is one of the greatest films ever made, a great romance, etc. If you want to see a great romance, rent "Notorious" or "Live Flesh" or, I could go on and on. Just like the movie. But I won't.

I fear that this is a case of the "Emperor's New Clothes." Some critics called it a great film, so others jump on the bandwagon to show that they too have good taste.

Believe me, this is not great filmmaking and this is not a great film. It's just an extremely boring film.

You were warned.

Deep Water (1981)

Horrible

[27 July 2001]

Somehow this film manages to be boring and disgusting at the same time. The music is particularly awful - faux baroque/jazz - and violin scratching that is supposed to be suspenseful but is just annoying. As is typical in French movies, it starts out well, with a very interesting premise, interesting characters, good dialogue...and then nothing happens. Well, to be fair, some things do happen, but there is never a sense of direction, of the story going somewhere, or of anything being resolved. I can't blame it all on the French though. It's based on a book by Patricia Highsmith and in her signature style glorifies immorality and sexual/psychological perversity. She also wrote "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Strangers on a Train." Hitchcock was a master filmmaker, and while he kept the evil and the pscyhopathy, he also had the skill to make "Strangers" into a film that is scary and suspenseful, yet with an ending that doesn't repel.

This is like watching a cat and mouse game that you couldn't care less about. I'm sorry I wasted an hour and a half on this terrible movie.