Reviews

A film about intrigue in the tobacco industry? 60 Minutes? Russell Crowe as a middle aged man? Christopher Plummer? Al Pacino? No wonder I was apprehensive. But go and see this film. It is 2h35m long but using the well proven "sore bottom" test it passed with flying colours....and quickly. Michael Mann has managed to produce suspense where there should be none and he is well supported by his cast. I have difficulty believing that it is the stuff that Oscars are made of but I guess that the subject matter is so controversial, extra exposure via the Academy won't go amiss so it will probably score well in a moderate year for film releases.

When I saw this film upon release , it seemed vaguely familiar. Looking at it again today I picked up why...it was "The Godfather" set in the sixteenth century with Blanchett as Michael Corleone in drag and Geoffrey Rush as an impassive Tom Hagen. The final bloodbaths seemed to have been written by the same scriptwriter. Notwithstanding that, the film is a beauty and it belabours the emotions right to the end. All of the main characters are magnificent and the wonder of it all is that, in 1999, the Academy showed that politics mean more than art when they can award the Oscar to such a lightweight as "Shakespeare in Love" while almost ignoring the quality of "Elizabeth" and, dare I say it, "Saving Private Ryan".

I guess that we in this century about to end have learned to live better than in Marquise's century. As with other French films of this type, the result captures the decadence of the age and the director has painted a gorgeous picture of the period. One critic said that she saw no point to the story...there definitely was one and it was made in America...."All About Eve" so it just goes to show that there isn't a lot that is new....still the movie was really worth a look for no one can make them like the French....unless you are an Italian.

One of the problems encountered when preparing to see such movies as "Washington Square" is how to avoid early comments from those who "have seen the original" or "have read the book" or are professional film critics. Intelligent people should be able to make up their own minds and with "Washington Square" so they should. As stated in the one line summary, the film is sumptuously staged throughout it's full duration and the settings are enhanced by some fine acting. To be sure a couple of performances are a little "over the top' ie Leigh and the ageless Maggie Smith but the story allows them to indulge in their own acting foibles. Maybe the director's interpretation does not please the odd person who has read James' novella and just maybe "The Heiress" was some sort of classic (I have actually seen it) but who cares. ""Washington Square"....1997 version....stands on its own as an excellent movie.