Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Away From Her

Sarah Polley's adaptation is somewhat like a dreary classroom lecture, with the lecturer trying desperately hard to get the attention of the students. Occasionally, he succeeds, but then after a few minutes he loses his audience once again.

This was my impression; Away From Her is slightly dreary but has its moments. Judging from its critical reaction, a lot of other people love/like it, so I'm in the minority on this regard.

I certainly don't believe movies ought to fight for the viewer's attention, but I do believe they should be worth it. So while the movie occasionally is worth it, by and large I did not see the point.

Well, at least watch it for Julie Christie, who has already got a bagful of awards (although Gordon Pinsent is somewhat equal in presence, if not better). But her performance was oddly subdued (in my opinion). Perhaps you could say she played it subtly. It certainly wasn't anything outstanding.

Barely interesting movie. Barely.

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