Nancy Olsson

An excellent film which brings together much of what was happening in 17th century England. Religious wars and conflicts, general cruelty and especially cruelty to women, attitudes about what women were capable of, the hard slog of farming life. Perfectly cast and acted, magnificent camera-work, costumes and scenery. For me the music was the only jarring element, at times just intrusive, at other times signally too clearly what was coming, breaking the tension. But the ending was perfect.

All through this film I kept wondering 'What's the point?' Yes, Pfeiffer's performance is good, although not so good as to bring us to care about her, let alone understand why she did what she did. Casually giving away all her money in meaningless gestures (a €100 note to pay for a coffee, a bundle of notes to a homeless man, €2000 for a 'last meal') struck me as profligate and stupid, not to mention thoughtless, as her son, whom she said she loved, would be left with nothing. (Unless he had a trust fund from his father, though we never learned details like that.) Contrived plot devices, like the runaway cat embodying the spirit of her late husband, or the detective hired to find the cat moving into the apartment, did not work for me either. Scenes in both NYC and Paris were beautiful, though the scenes on the cruise ship they took from New York to Paris (why?) reaffirmed my vow never to set foot on a cruise ship. Since it's the closest I'll get to the Place des Vosges or the Canal Saint Martin soon, I'll give it 2 stars for being beautiful to look at..

One of the best buddy/road trip movies I've seen in a long time, rich with themes touching on good and evil, good intentions and unexpected outcomes. Not about the Outer Banks, but probably could only have been made there. Good, understated performances by often under-rated actors like Thomas Hayden Church and John Hawkes and nice to see Shia LeBoeuf in a real grown-up role. Great depiction of Down Syndrome. Highly recommended.

"Engrossing but imperfect" sums it up. A few wonderful ballet scenes. Terrific sound track. Ralph Fiennes mumbling in Russian (I wish I could as well). 60s Paris on show: Palais Garnier (Opéra), Louvre, République (how did they film the Place de la République around the current roadworks - CGI?), Sainte Chappelle; and the Hermitage in Leningrad (both Hermitage and Paris attractions cheaper and easier to get into then than now). A probably accurate picture of what it must have been like for artistics and creatives in Soviet era USSR. No reason to like Nureyev, but every reason to admire him. 6/10