I'm rather surprised to see so many glowing reviews for this mess. Maybe these people are James Joyce fans?? I have only a cursory knowledge of the author and frankly have never really examined his work in any detail. Is that a necessary pre-requisite for appreciating this film? It shouldn't be.
However, as a movie and theater goer, I can tell you that this film is an interminable disaster. The screenplay is too vague on so many important points about the lives of the two main characters, that it leaves the casual audience confused, bewildered and bored. The emotions of Mr. Joyce and wife seem to switch back and forth with lightning schizophrenic speed from one cliche to the next. Neither of the two talented leads can surmount the dull direction, plodding scenario, and absence of a genuinely interesting story. Based on this movie, I would never want to read a word Joyce wrote. He seems so dull and pedestrian. Some commentators have stressed the film is not about Mr. Joyce, but about Nora. But there wouldn't be anything special about her or her life if she hadn't been Joyce's "amour". All we understand about Joyce from this movie is that he writes, swears, has a variable amount of sexual deviancy, drinks and of course, is Irish! With all that, he is still a complete stranger to us by the film's end; a character we cared about in the first fifteen minutes of the movie and one we couldn't give a hoot about by the conclusion.
With all frankness, this movie is more about subtle audience torture than an interesting relationship. In fact, after 45 minutes of viewing the DVD, I was just wishing that someone would come along, shoot Mr. Joyce and his wife, and put them and us out their and our collective misery.
However, as a movie and theater goer, I can tell you that this film is an interminable disaster. The screenplay is too vague on so many important points about the lives of the two main characters, that it leaves the casual audience confused, bewildered and bored. The emotions of Mr. Joyce and wife seem to switch back and forth with lightning schizophrenic speed from one cliche to the next. Neither of the two talented leads can surmount the dull direction, plodding scenario, and absence of a genuinely interesting story. Based on this movie, I would never want to read a word Joyce wrote. He seems so dull and pedestrian. Some commentators have stressed the film is not about Mr. Joyce, but about Nora. But there wouldn't be anything special about her or her life if she hadn't been Joyce's "amour". All we understand about Joyce from this movie is that he writes, swears, has a variable amount of sexual deviancy, drinks and of course, is Irish! With all that, he is still a complete stranger to us by the film's end; a character we cared about in the first fifteen minutes of the movie and one we couldn't give a hoot about by the conclusion.
With all frankness, this movie is more about subtle audience torture than an interesting relationship. In fact, after 45 minutes of viewing the DVD, I was just wishing that someone would come along, shoot Mr. Joyce and his wife, and put them and us out their and our collective misery.