The Eighth Day is supposed to be a charming experience, but I found it to be largely irritating and dull.
The film focuses around Harry, played by Daniel Auteuil, a salesman who's life is falling apart. Stuck in his daily routine, estranged from his wife and failing to be a father to his children. This, cut-and-paste character then meets Georges, a guy with Down's Syndrome who proceeds as we all know by now to help him turn his life around and get back to being a father to his kids.
The problem is that we are given no insight as to why Harry puts up with Georges after the initial meeting. Harry's life is in a bad enough state as it is, it's completely implausible that he'd risk losing his job by taking time off to try and get Georges to his mother's house. The humour completely misses the mark, instead of showing us why Harry is putting up with this guy, we are treated to a series of irritating, unfunny skits in which Harry bears the brunt of Georges mishaps.
The film reaches its peak when Georges remembers it's Harry's daughters birthday and along with other people from his home steal a bus, take Harry out of a conference, set off some fireworks, et viola! Harry is a good father again and now he can see the kids. For a film that is supposed to be grounded in realism (despite its poor attempt at a fantasy/reality message) this is completely implausible and unbelievable. Add to this the demise of Georges character, which I cannot fathom as to how people have been in tears at, as he is surely one of the most irritating characters ever created.
The best thing about the film is it does have two great performances from its two leads, but these are not good enough for me to recommend that anyone sit through it. A lot of comments for this film has suggested its similarity and superiority to Rain Man, this is not so in my eyes, this is a watered down sub-standard effort with none of Rain Man's humour or warmth.
The film focuses around Harry, played by Daniel Auteuil, a salesman who's life is falling apart. Stuck in his daily routine, estranged from his wife and failing to be a father to his children. This, cut-and-paste character then meets Georges, a guy with Down's Syndrome who proceeds as we all know by now to help him turn his life around and get back to being a father to his kids.
The problem is that we are given no insight as to why Harry puts up with Georges after the initial meeting. Harry's life is in a bad enough state as it is, it's completely implausible that he'd risk losing his job by taking time off to try and get Georges to his mother's house. The humour completely misses the mark, instead of showing us why Harry is putting up with this guy, we are treated to a series of irritating, unfunny skits in which Harry bears the brunt of Georges mishaps.
The film reaches its peak when Georges remembers it's Harry's daughters birthday and along with other people from his home steal a bus, take Harry out of a conference, set off some fireworks, et viola! Harry is a good father again and now he can see the kids. For a film that is supposed to be grounded in realism (despite its poor attempt at a fantasy/reality message) this is completely implausible and unbelievable. Add to this the demise of Georges character, which I cannot fathom as to how people have been in tears at, as he is surely one of the most irritating characters ever created.
The best thing about the film is it does have two great performances from its two leads, but these are not good enough for me to recommend that anyone sit through it. A lot of comments for this film has suggested its similarity and superiority to Rain Man, this is not so in my eyes, this is a watered down sub-standard effort with none of Rain Man's humour or warmth.