Reviews

I stumbled upon this movie on cable on a lazy summer afternoon. What a delight! It was beautiful, well-acted all around, and very funny. I was totally charmed by the movie from beginning to end. I couldn't help root for the village in their nonsensical quest, and I was totally drawn in by their attempts to keep the cartographers around. This is a light-hearted movie, but what it says about the horrible losses experienced by the UK in WWI and the sense of community of small towns in a simpler time gives the movie a stature that brings it far above a mere piece of fluff.

This must be the only non-History-channel movie in existence with a cartographer as a lead role!! I just returned from a trip to England, and I am married to a man who was a cartographer for many years, so perhaps I was predisposed to like the movie. I also visited one of the vast British WWI cemeteries in northern France (Etaples), which moved me deeply. We Americans are woefully ignorant of the huge losses of promising young men that the British sustained during that war. The character Johnny Shell-shocked in this movie gives but a hint of the horror and emotional damage sustained by those who survived. As with everything else in this movie, it was handled with restraint and grace. Given what many of our own young people are experiencing today in Iraq, that sub-plot may have extra resonance with many viewers.

Fix yourself a cup of strong, hot tea (or a pint of ale), adjust your ears to "thick Welsh accent" and sit back and enjoy an entertaining, thoughtful little movie. If you give it a chance, you may love it.

Just saw this b&w copy on KET2 (Kentucky Educational Television). What a treat! Julie Andrews' voice was marvelous (though I didn't think she quite captured the innocence of Cinderella, even at 21). Edie Adams really hammed it up as the fairy godmother -- she was terrific! And it was fun seeing familiar character actors such as Jon Cypher and Alice Ghostley in their earlier days. The version I saw broke in periodically for current-day commentary by Julie Andrews, Jon Cypher, Kaye Ballard, etc. It was fascinating that they did it in real time, with costume changes just barely beating the camera!

If you get a chance to see this, go for it! It's a national treasure, even if the old Cinderella story is not your cup of tea.

I wanted this movie to be better than it was. The story is so compelling and one with which all American women should become familiar. But the script has the characters speaking to each other in much too modern, overly casual language. The MTV-type score is abominable and very distracting, providing slow, moody music over violent street scenes, for example. Hilary Swank is good, though her pouty, poofy lips and sometimes vacant eyes seem a poor choice for a grimly determined suffragette. Confusing editing and some strange directorial choices make it difficult to become emotionally involved in what should be a very moving story. Period costuming is good. Some scenes are beautifully shot, often carefully recreating famous photos of the period. This important story deserves a better treatment than Iron Jawed Angels.

This was clearly an "actor's movie", with only three roles, all involving subtly changing emotions throughout. There is strong language and an adult theme about a date rape that may or may not have occurred ten years ago, though no sex or violence is actually depicted. All the action occurs in a single hotel room during a single evening. The action consists mostly of talk between characters, yet it kept my interest throughout.

Though it's not one of my favorites, I did enjoy the movie. Ethan Hawke is a fascinating actor to watch, appearing here as a very unlikeable character. Hawke's character, Vince, was unkempt and slovenly, and a Puck-ish troublemaker, yet Hawke managed to let us see glimmers of the charmer Vince once was, which helped a little in explaining why the other two characters would continue to allow themselves to be manipulated by him. Robert Sean Leonard was, I thought, less successful in his role. I found it hard to understand why he continued to pay any attention to Vince, why he didn't just walk away when Vince became offensive. Uma Thurman did NOT look like an assistant district attorney -- even one "off duty." I thought she moved too quickly between emotions, without letting us in on the process. That may be the fault of the script.

I would recommend this to serious theatre buffs or serious Ethan Hawke fans. Too talky for action-movie addicts.