I'd been looking forward to this movie for some time, and saw it last night.
I was deeply disappointed. I've pretty much enjoyed Zelwegger in everything she's done (and feel SHE, rather then Zeta Jones, should have garnered an Oscar for "Chicago"), but I hate to admit that not only is she horribly miscast, but she mugs and overplays the part so horrifically, I was expecting the movie to end with her being carted off to some post-Victorian asylum and administered electroshock therapy until the walls of her cell open up and her "friends" take her off to Neverland. Definitely NOT an Oscar-worthy performance.
The movie really opens up once McGregor appears on the scene, and he subtly steals every scene he's in...to my shock, he's turning into a more and more versatile actor the older he gets. Once he leaves the picture, there's a gaping void that simply can't be filled. Indeed, the last 20 minutes or so of the film is a badly-conceived mess.
Noonan's direction is all over the place -- the movie felt rushed in places, and is accomplished in others. Yet, strangely, he doesn't seem to be able to place the camera to get effective use in what are the many static "talky" scenes. His direction of the actors as them all spouting the lines at a level of barely-suppressed hysteria. It's as if somebody had sent spiked Cool-Aid back in time and topped up their teacups with it.
The blame for the movie must largely be laid at Richard Maltby's screenplay. The characters just don't ring true.
The nicest thing I can say is that the movie rattles along quickly, and it's largely pretty to look at. (Oddly, it reminded me of several movies from the early 70s -- including the far superior "Agatha".)
I was deeply disappointed. I've pretty much enjoyed Zelwegger in everything she's done (and feel SHE, rather then Zeta Jones, should have garnered an Oscar for "Chicago"), but I hate to admit that not only is she horribly miscast, but she mugs and overplays the part so horrifically, I was expecting the movie to end with her being carted off to some post-Victorian asylum and administered electroshock therapy until the walls of her cell open up and her "friends" take her off to Neverland. Definitely NOT an Oscar-worthy performance.
The movie really opens up once McGregor appears on the scene, and he subtly steals every scene he's in...to my shock, he's turning into a more and more versatile actor the older he gets. Once he leaves the picture, there's a gaping void that simply can't be filled. Indeed, the last 20 minutes or so of the film is a badly-conceived mess.
Noonan's direction is all over the place -- the movie felt rushed in places, and is accomplished in others. Yet, strangely, he doesn't seem to be able to place the camera to get effective use in what are the many static "talky" scenes. His direction of the actors as them all spouting the lines at a level of barely-suppressed hysteria. It's as if somebody had sent spiked Cool-Aid back in time and topped up their teacups with it.
The blame for the movie must largely be laid at Richard Maltby's screenplay. The characters just don't ring true.
The nicest thing I can say is that the movie rattles along quickly, and it's largely pretty to look at. (Oddly, it reminded me of several movies from the early 70s -- including the far superior "Agatha".)