Steve U.

The film was highly engaging, brilliantly acted, and skillfully directed. Ralph Finnes is one of the greats. The woke twist at the end rather spoiled it for me however, as if the filmmaker was genuflecting to a prevailing Hollywood idealogy for the sake of getting the film recognized by the Academy at awards time. There were noticeable guffaws in the audience.

Too much focus on on the obnoxious parents of the protagonist contributing nothing to the vibe or historical cultural context. Script needed a serious rewrite before shooting. Period detail and mood otherwise, was stunning, as Lee is known for, (re: The Ice Storm). Skip it.