Michael's Movie Grade: A-
Review: Fantastic thought provoking movie, which I feel like I may have to watch again to get fully everything out of.
While there are many movies with great and interesting characters, this movie does something truly special. What is fascinating in this film is the relationship between our two leads. This is far from a simple romance movie as there is much more depth than in your average romance film. There is an extreme intimacy created when Reynolds makes dresses for Alma. Though both strongly feel the presence of this intimacy very strongly, both understand what they feel very differently. We are left also not knowing exactly how to interpret this intimacy, and this creates a strong disturbing feeling that can not be fully explained. Should or can this intimacy fully exist outside of this act, or is this act the only place this pure passion should or can unfold? We are unsure about the answer to these questions and therefore we are uncomfortable about much of what we are watching. This feeling is fully expressed cinematically with long takes without any dialogue or action. We are made to reflect on these questions and the full emotional impact of what is happening in the character's minds. The results of the intimacy created between the characters during the act of dressmaking is just as thought provoking as it is disturbing and we never quite know what will happen next.
If I were to make any complaints about this movie, they would be that some of the side characters aren't fully developed, and there was one scene (about removing a dress) that I felt was unnecessary. However with how truly great this movie is these seem like nitpicks.
-Michael J. Ruhland
No comments:
Post a Comment