Portrait Of A Lady
Donna Smith x57135, SMO MAINT.
I am planning to see Portrait Of A Lady and would like to have opinions
from anyone that has already seen it. Thank you.
Jeff DeMarco
In article <5efna6$o...@kodak.rdcs.Kodak.COM>, smi...@obwon.kodak.com wrote:
>I am planning to see Portrait Of A Lady and would like to have opinions
>from anyone that has already seen it. Thank you.
Beautifully photographed, woodenly acted. I hated it - I found it painful to
sit through. I normally like costume dramas - I enjoyed "The Piano" very
much. This book is not well suited to the screen.
There is not enough time for character development, so most of what happens
doesn't seem to have any real substance.
Enjoy!
*************************************************
Jeff DeMarco WB6KUW
Riverside, CA
j...@pe.net http://www.pe.net/~jmd
"I am not a number, I am an alphanumeric string!"
Ben Lauter
On 19 Feb 1997, Donna Smith x57135, SMO MAINT. wrote:
> I am planning to see Portrait Of A Lady and would like to have opinions
> from anyone that has already seen it. Thank you.
>
In a word: Don't. I haven't seen it, but by all accounts, it was
incredibly boring and has tanked at the box office.
Ben
Adam Neil Villani
In article <Pine.SOL.3.95.970221...@uhura.cc.rochester.edu>,
Ben Lauter <bl0...@uhura.cc.rochester.edu> wrote:
>On 19 Feb 1997, Donna Smith x57135, SMO MAINT. wrote:
>
>> I am planning to see Portrait Of A Lady and would like to have opinions
>> from anyone that has already seen it. Thank you.
>>
>In a word: Don't. I haven't seen it, but by all accounts, it was
>incredibly boring and has tanked at the box office.
>
Well, how would you like a review from somebody who's actually _seen_ the
movie? Don't worry too much, though, because the previous poster was right.
Whatever merit the movie may have in its cinematography, music, and
costumes, it can't make up for the fact that it's a dreary story that fails
to connect in any emotional way. All of the actors' lines just sort of
fall with a thud to the floor, and the characters aren't very interesting.
Jane Campion's got a good movie in her somewhere, but she's got to find or
write a better script first.
DANNY KIM
--It is a long drawn out film, one which will occasionally make an
impression on you. Kidman and Malkovich are good, and Barbara
Hershey...um, I guess she was good too since she got an Oscar
nomination. Always puzzling why one gets nominated while two others do
not.
@-one dove_deee lite_underworld_front 242_tkk_tori amos_vanessa daou_kmfdm-$
>---------------------->Danny Kim-d...@nevada.edu<-----------------------<
%-mazzy star_republica_orbital_prodigy_cranes_fsol_dead can dance_the orb--#
"You would have to kill me and prop me up in the seat of my
car with a smiley face painted on my face to get me to go near Hollywood."
-Philip K. Dick
NCR Morris
DANNY KIM (dan...@nevada.edu) wrote:
:
: --It is a long drawn out film, one which will occasionally make an
: Hershey...um, I guess she was good too since she got an Oscar
: nomination. Always puzzling why one gets nominated while two others do
: not.
What do you mean "I GUESS she was good" just because Hershey got
an Oscar nomination??? What did YOU think of the performance? Personally I
thought her role was far too small to warrant a nomination. She did not
stand out in her role at all. I also felt that whilst looking the part,
Kidman sadly lacked enough charisma to make the part her own. Malkovich
was his usually annoying, arrogant SOB, who really doesn't act, but just
whispers very quietly because it sounds menacing. A bit.
I felt that it was the rest of the cast which performed well, most
noteably Osmond's daughter and her suitor, whose names escape me at the
moment. They handled their roles with such integrity for ones so young.
Gielgud and Grant- class in a glass!
There were also some awkward moments, far too modern for a period
piece. The worst part? Kidman dreams of her suitors clawing and pawing her
as she lays on the bed. The men 'dissolve', as if being beamed onto the
Enterprise. Urgh!
NEIL
Michael Barry
I don't know about Jane Campion's abilities as a director...The Piano was
so bad I thought - so many false moments that I just couldn't believe in
any of it. So badly paced - she needs to work on her pacing for a start if
she is to become a more accomplished director. For this she should look at
Kubrick or Scorsese.
Michael Barry.
Karen Patricia Offereins
I think a good sum-up word for this movie would be
CONTRIVED.
And I agree, while I generally like Malkovich, I thought
he was playing the typecasted character he usually gets/takes.
Which has gotten old FAST.
The one scene that I did like wuite a bit was when Osmond
was sitting Isabel on those cushions to get her to stay put.
Not sure why, but I really liked that.
And, I know at least the young male suitor to Osmond's
daughter was played by Christian Bale, of _Empire of the
Sun_, which ironically also starred Malkovich.
DANNY KIM
A really bright individual babbled:
DANNY KIM (dan...@nevada.edu) wrote:
:
: --It is a long drawn out film, one which will occasionally make an
: impression on you. Kidman and Malkovich are good, and Barbara
: Hershey...um, I guess she was good too since she got an Oscar
: nomination. Always puzzling why one gets nominated while two others do
: not.
:
What do you mean "I GUESS she was good" just because Hershey got
an Oscar nomination??? What did YOU think of the performance? Personally I
thought her role was far too small to warrant a nomination. She did not
--I was being sarcastic as usual. I hardly remembered Hershey's
part...which is why I was hesistant in saying she deserved a supporting
Sscar nom.
stand out in her role at all. I also felt that whilst looking the part,
Kidman sadly lacked enough charisma to make the part her own. Malkovich
was his usually annoying, arrogant SOB, who really doesn't act, but just
whispers very quietly because it sounds menacing. A bit.
I felt that it was the rest of the cast which performed well, most
noteably Osmond's daughter and her suitor, whose names escape me at the
moment. They handled their roles with such integrity for ones so young.
Gielgud and Grant- class in a glass!
There were also some awkward moments, far too modern for a period
piece. The worst part? Kidman dreams of her suitors clawing and pawing her
as she lays on the bed. The men 'dissolve', as if being beamed onto the
Enterprise. Urgh!
--The actor who played Isabel's cousin, something Donovan was very good.
And I hope Gielgud lives long enough to grace another motion picture.
This year was a great year for Gielgud.
Michael Barry
The problem with Campion's direction is that it lacks tightness...she does
not seem to have developed a good sense of timing, pacing or rhythm, hence
her films seem to drag.
It's not just that her films are slow moving. Andrei Tarkovsky's films are
incredibly slow, yet because he has a talent for pacing and rhythm, his
films flow along beautifully and gently.
She also needs to show an appreciation for restraint and minimalism, rather
than repeatedly cutting to a dozen shots of the mud like in "The Piano".
Michael Barry.
Bill Binkelman
I can't speak for PORTRAIT, which I haven't seen yet. But Campion's
AN ANGEL AT MY TABLE certainly doesn't drag, IMO. In fact, it is one
of the most riveting 2+ hour films I have seen. Yes, it _is_ episodic,
so some people are turned off by that...but the human element just
captivated me. And some of the shots were very lyrical. Just poetry on
film.
Bill B
Luis Canau
dan...@nevada.edu (DANNY KIM ) wrote:
>(...)--The actor who played Isabel's cousin, something Donovan was very good.
>And I hope Gielgud lives long enough to grace another motion picture.
>This year was a great year for Gielgud.
Martin Donovan has been appearing in Hal Hartley's movies; «Simply Men»,
«Trust» and «Amateur». (I didn't saw «Flirt» yet) I think he's a very good
actor. Maybe this movie will bring him more mainstream roles...