There are enough laughs to make it work, and it’s certainly superior to the second film, while lacking the freshness of the first. Zellweger is so appealing that she’s worth watching even when it’s not hilarious. And Emma Thompson adds depth as Doctor Rawlings.
On the plus side, the three stars remain watchable no matter what – Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth and Hugh Grant all exude undeniable screen presence, but they can’t improve the wobbly script. There are long patches without any amusing lines at all. Loud music drowns out the dialogue in a few places.
The film gets worse in the second half, seemingly just stringing out a weak premise to make up the full running time. Especially wretched was the gaggle of friends who make up the “Greek chorus” (a standard Richard Curtis tic) offering advice and commentary. Very old-fashioned gender politics, too, and we’re repeatedly told that life is worthless if you don’t have a handsome boyfriend.
It’s an emotional story, extremely well-handled. Firth and Kidman are both excellent. You can really believe they are in love, and the scene in which they first meet, on a train journey, exudes warmth and charm. I wanted more of that. You can also believe how damaged Firth is.
The younger and older depictions of the key characters work well, and the time transitions are elegantly managed.
The ending is unexpectedly satisfying.
Thomas Sangster plays Romulus Augustulus, who is descended from the Caesar bloodline when his parents are killed. He is taken in by the kindly Aurelianus Ambrosius (Colin Firth) and Mira (Aishwarya Rai), and guided by the wise – and oddly bearded – Ambrosinus (Ben Kingsley).
It’s quite entertaining in a fairly silly manner. The only real criticism is that Sangster could’ve been more of a hero, instead of someone that things merely happen to. That way, you might have found yourself actually rooting for him.
This compelling drama works like a play, mostly based around dialogue rather than action. There’s plenty of warm, subtle humour but it’s also very moving and it looks mortality in the face with an honesty that few films manage. The acting is top-notch, with both leads at their very best.
The music is perfect, too. I was surprised and pleased to hear Karen Dalton on the soundtrack.
It’s funny in places, although Hugh Grant is given all the best lines. Colin Firth seems less well catered for in terms of the script, with the unfortunate result that you aren’t rooting for him when the plot suggests that you should be. Zellweger has a bumbling charm, and is perfect as the heroine everyone can relate to, even if her English accent doesn’t sound quite right.
Some of the references wouldn’t have made it to a modern-day film, which makes it all the more interesting now.
Gemma Jones is absolutely awful as Bridget’s mother – a misconceived role, badly handled. Jim Broadbent is marginally better as her father, but he’s not given a great deal to go on.
Gary Oldman is George Smiley, leading an all-star cast that also includes Kathy Burke, Benedict Cumberbatch, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy, John Hurt, Toby Jones and Mark Strong.
The plot follows Smiley’s efforts to track down a double agent within the British secret service. I found it often too complicated to follow. I also got annoyed with the unrelenting greys and the deliberately grim visuals. Most of the “drama” comes from flashbacks or reported speech, making it less than compelling. I could appreciate that it was an expertly made film but it was too focused on mood and style to ever pull me in.
It’s possibly the weirdest film I’ve ever seen.
The flimsy “plot” is simple: a girl called Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is getting married and wants to invite her father. But she’s unsure which of three possible contenders he is. So she invites them all to the Greek island hotel owned by her mother in order to find out.
Meryl Streep is surprisingly good in the main role, and sings pretty well. Pierce Brosnan comes across oddly and sings badly. Colin Firth is likeable but given little to go on in terms of the script.
Most notable are the visuals. The lighting doesn’t look real and I don’t think it’s even meant to. It creates a kind of multi-coloured hyper-reality of its own. Some of the casting is peculiar, too. Julie Walters seems an odd choice for one of Streep’s best friends, and her “fun-loving” character is coarse and difficult to endure. Even worse is Sky (Dominic Cooper), Sophie’s unappealing fiancé.
I spent most of the film in shock, unsure what I was meant to be thinking or feeling. The Abba songs are great, of course, but did they need to be used to soundtrack a fairly banal romantic comedy?
Nicole Kidman stars as Christine, a woman who lost her memory 10 years ago. Each morning her husband Ben (Colin Firth) has to tell her who she is and what happened to her, because she can’t remember anything from before the last time she slept. What trauma caused her to forget everything? Why is Ben concealing certain facts? And what are the motives of the neuroscientist (Mark Strong) who offers to help her without Ben’s knowledge?
It’s an intriguing premise – somewhere between Memento and Groundhog Day. Plot-wise there were some questionable aspects. Why doesn’t Christine simply keep a notebook and add information as she learns it? There’s a digital camera (supplied by the neuroscientist), but how does it get new batteries? What stops its memory from filling up? And how are the photos on the wall explained once the big twist has been revealed?
On the plus side, the English landscapes (such as Greenwich Park) look better than they usually do in films.
It was also baffling that the same song (“Love Is All Around”) had to be revived from an earlier Richard Curtis film: Four Weddings and a Funeral. Maybe it was a self-referential joke, but couldn't they just have come up with another love song? There’s no shortage.
I admire the ambition, and there were some genuinely funny moments, but it ended up being a sprawling mess. Woody Allen could have done much more with the raw material and handled the complex storytelling with greater skill.
