I saw this movie at a Q&A (with the director) screening Sunday night in Lincoln Center. I would say it was good movie but not a great one.
It seemed to me that the film was trying to do and be too many things, so the emotional impact it had on me was far less than what I think it should have been, given the basic story and quality of the performances. I never read the book, so I can't compare the film to it.
I think my major problems were these:
1.The way the story is told never enabled me to really feel the level of love that was supposed to exist between ""Justin" (Ralph Fiennes) and "Tessa" (Rachel Weisz), and it was this love that was supposed to enable "Justin" to change and choose the course of action that is the center of the story- the protagonist's "quest".
2.While the scenes of the conditions the Kenyans and Sudanese (I believe that a later scene was shot in Sudan) live under made me feel sympathy (and to some degree, guilt), there wasn't one main character who was a native of this environment- they were nameless faces who were supposed to symbolize the results of the exploitation and corruption that victimize Africa and her people. (I don't think the doctor who "Tessa" worked with was native to that area.) So, while I felt bad in the same way I would if I were watching the nightly news, it's not the same level of connection I would feel if there had been some well-defined characters- even one- who could have defined "who," as opposed to "what" "Tessa" was fighting for.
Because the movie has a mystery element to it, "Tessa's" full motives, by virtue of both the narrative form and needs, retains a degree of mystery, and to me, this made her character seem somewhat aloof, underdeveloped and one-note, although I have no problem with Rachel's portrayal of her. She is quite an engaging actress; reminds me a lot of Kate Winslet .
The most successful part of the film to me, despite the roadblocks I mentioned, was Ralph Fienne's beautiful performance. His work here is very internal, subtle and understated, and I found it quietly moving and powerful. Although "the too much going on" I referred to causes a competition of sorts among the elements for what the focus of the film should be- a murder mystery? A love story? An exploration and indictment of government and corporate greed being able to flourish unnoticed in Africa because nobody cares? The director's formidable skill in using flashback, visuals and sound to create auras of haunting memories, mystery, and suspense?- it is Fienne's moving portrayal of an English gentleman who experiences his emotions quietly as he pieces together what has happened that emerges from all of these vying elements as the center of this film.
It seemed to me that the film was trying to do and be too many things, so the emotional impact it had on me was far less than what I think it should have been, given the basic story and quality of the performances. I never read the book, so I can't compare the film to it.
I think my major problems were these:
1.The way the story is told never enabled me to really feel the level of love that was supposed to exist between ""Justin" (Ralph Fiennes) and "Tessa" (Rachel Weisz), and it was this love that was supposed to enable "Justin" to change and choose the course of action that is the center of the story- the protagonist's "quest".
2.While the scenes of the conditions the Kenyans and Sudanese (I believe that a later scene was shot in Sudan) live under made me feel sympathy (and to some degree, guilt), there wasn't one main character who was a native of this environment- they were nameless faces who were supposed to symbolize the results of the exploitation and corruption that victimize Africa and her people. (I don't think the doctor who "Tessa" worked with was native to that area.) So, while I felt bad in the same way I would if I were watching the nightly news, it's not the same level of connection I would feel if there had been some well-defined characters- even one- who could have defined "who," as opposed to "what" "Tessa" was fighting for.
Because the movie has a mystery element to it, "Tessa's" full motives, by virtue of both the narrative form and needs, retains a degree of mystery, and to me, this made her character seem somewhat aloof, underdeveloped and one-note, although I have no problem with Rachel's portrayal of her. She is quite an engaging actress; reminds me a lot of Kate Winslet .
The most successful part of the film to me, despite the roadblocks I mentioned, was Ralph Fienne's beautiful performance. His work here is very internal, subtle and understated, and I found it quietly moving and powerful. Although "the too much going on" I referred to causes a competition of sorts among the elements for what the focus of the film should be- a murder mystery? A love story? An exploration and indictment of government and corporate greed being able to flourish unnoticed in Africa because nobody cares? The director's formidable skill in using flashback, visuals and sound to create auras of haunting memories, mystery, and suspense?- it is Fienne's moving portrayal of an English gentleman who experiences his emotions quietly as he pieces together what has happened that emerges from all of these vying elements as the center of this film.