I saw this movie because I'm a fan of Stephen Fry from back in his "Blackadder" days, and I was reading an article about James McAvoy which mentioned his doing this film with Fry. I have to say that even though the film didn't make me think any less of either man as an artist, it was somewhat underwhelming overall, particularly in the last 20 minutes or so. I was very amused by the "Old Major" character for most of the film but finding him in the war situation didn't resonate for me. The biggest problem I had was with Nina Blount (Emily Mortimer). I couldn't be sure if I was supposed to respect that character or not, and by the time the film seemed to come down one way I had already made up my mind for the opposite. When Adam (Stephen Campbell Moore) sold her for his rent money, I thought it was actually a pretty sensible move considering how shallow she is, and I didn't understand or believe that he would give up his fortune for her much less burn his book for no real reason. In general I didn't think the film earned the kind of sincerity and pathos that the director Fry attempts to draw on for that finale (and I wasn't surprised, after writing this and reading some other comments, to find it was imported into the book).
However, the more breezy aspects of the movie do work, and I also enjoyed the parts with McAvoy toward the beginning. His performance is really thrilling the way he makes you feel at the same time how pathetically limited his ambitions are and yet believe his sincerity when he announces that he'll kill himself if he's not invited to a particular soirée. I laughed at the scene with him and Richard E. Grant (as a religious figure) and I felt bad for him when he made good on his promise. If only the movie had been about his character instead of this other guy who felt too serious to fit into that social group. There's a dual aspect to his screen persona, a mixture of a kind of misguided or disproportionate hunger for excitement and a vulnerability to intimate personal relationships that produces a feeling of awkward sensitivity just beneath the surface of a boor.
Fenella Woolgar is an actress I'd not heard of, but her work in this film was the most impressive of all. I've actually known people a bit like her back in college. I recognized pretty much all of the basic types presented in the film, but she made hers feel the most human and real which is an accomplishment considering the characters are deliberately shallow. What happens to her happy-go-lucky character made me reflect on the fact that she could have been somewhat insane all along and nobody would've noticed. Without getting too personal this also reminds me of some people I've known and some times I've lived in. Sometimes with the irrational things we do as kids or young adults either on a spur of the moment impulse or to try to impress each other, we get so wound up and confused that we can't even recognize who among our loved friends is just wild and crazy with youth and who might be alcoholic or mentally sick until it's too late. At least I never could.
The leading man and lady aren't nearly as impressive. Moore does pretty well at least until those war scenes, but I never cared for the character Mortimer was playing so it's hard to say how good she was in the movie. I never felt any kind of humanity from her, and I think the writer/director wanted us to, so at least some of the blame falls on her shoulders. Dan Akyroid is suitable, nothing special, and O'Toole's brief appearance grabs our attention but does nothing with it.
All in all, it's a moderately successful and watchable film, but I don't plan on returning to it anytime soon. I think the film takes itself a bit more seriously than it should.
However, the more breezy aspects of the movie do work, and I also enjoyed the parts with McAvoy toward the beginning. His performance is really thrilling the way he makes you feel at the same time how pathetically limited his ambitions are and yet believe his sincerity when he announces that he'll kill himself if he's not invited to a particular soirée. I laughed at the scene with him and Richard E. Grant (as a religious figure) and I felt bad for him when he made good on his promise. If only the movie had been about his character instead of this other guy who felt too serious to fit into that social group. There's a dual aspect to his screen persona, a mixture of a kind of misguided or disproportionate hunger for excitement and a vulnerability to intimate personal relationships that produces a feeling of awkward sensitivity just beneath the surface of a boor.
Fenella Woolgar is an actress I'd not heard of, but her work in this film was the most impressive of all. I've actually known people a bit like her back in college. I recognized pretty much all of the basic types presented in the film, but she made hers feel the most human and real which is an accomplishment considering the characters are deliberately shallow. What happens to her happy-go-lucky character made me reflect on the fact that she could have been somewhat insane all along and nobody would've noticed. Without getting too personal this also reminds me of some people I've known and some times I've lived in. Sometimes with the irrational things we do as kids or young adults either on a spur of the moment impulse or to try to impress each other, we get so wound up and confused that we can't even recognize who among our loved friends is just wild and crazy with youth and who might be alcoholic or mentally sick until it's too late. At least I never could.
The leading man and lady aren't nearly as impressive. Moore does pretty well at least until those war scenes, but I never cared for the character Mortimer was playing so it's hard to say how good she was in the movie. I never felt any kind of humanity from her, and I think the writer/director wanted us to, so at least some of the blame falls on her shoulders. Dan Akyroid is suitable, nothing special, and O'Toole's brief appearance grabs our attention but does nothing with it.
All in all, it's a moderately successful and watchable film, but I don't plan on returning to it anytime soon. I think the film takes itself a bit more seriously than it should.