That is the unanswered question here. Why? Why exactly was Gertrude Bell so fascinated with the desert states she explored. She rode camels a lot. She walked a lot. She appeared to be tall. All superficial things about this character. But we all that camel riding and walking got boring after a while...and not a very long while at that. Clearly there must have been a fascinating woman there...but you'd never know it by this film. 128 minutes is not too long for most films...but it was too long here.
That's not to say the film has no redeeming qualities. Oddly enough, I can't stand James Franco. But here I found his performance very engaging...although it took me a while to realize who he was. Of course, as one of the good things about the movie, we only see him in the early scenes of the movie.
Nicole Kidman did a fine job as Gertrude Bell. That wasn't the problem with the movie. The problem was the script and the directing. The most interesting casting may have been that as Robert Pattinson as "Lawrence of Arabia"; quite interesting...but he's no Peter O'Toole. And I found it interesting to see Jenny Agutter, who I lost track of since 1976 in "Logan's Run" (I know I just dated myself).
The film wasn't bad enough to turn off, but it did take me several sittings to wade through the plodding plot. It's a shame...I have a feeling there was a fascinating story here.
That's not to say the film has no redeeming qualities. Oddly enough, I can't stand James Franco. But here I found his performance very engaging...although it took me a while to realize who he was. Of course, as one of the good things about the movie, we only see him in the early scenes of the movie.
Nicole Kidman did a fine job as Gertrude Bell. That wasn't the problem with the movie. The problem was the script and the directing. The most interesting casting may have been that as Robert Pattinson as "Lawrence of Arabia"; quite interesting...but he's no Peter O'Toole. And I found it interesting to see Jenny Agutter, who I lost track of since 1976 in "Logan's Run" (I know I just dated myself).
The film wasn't bad enough to turn off, but it did take me several sittings to wade through the plodding plot. It's a shame...I have a feeling there was a fascinating story here.