Change Your Image
sam_dart
Reviews
Birth (2004)
Ludicrously bad when it could have been so much more. disappointing miss kidman very disappointing
OK so when i saw the trailer (i think) for this film and then read about it in a film magazine i really wanted to go and see it. it seemed to me like it would be thought provoking and thoroughly rewarding touching on subjects like the loss and grieving for a loved one, reincarnation and also how much someone will believe in order to have time with someone they have loved and lost.
i cajoled, convinced and carried (literally at some points) my friend to the cinema to see it with me, he's not really into the whole 'arty' film genre being more of a blockbuster fan. Anyway i tell him it'll be good, i tell him it'll make him think (but not to hard don't want him to strain himself) and i tell him it'll give us something to talk about after we come out of the cinema. Well it did....
Of course we had to wait for the stunned/shocked silence to pass as we exited the cinema and crossed the parking lot and it was he who spoke first, "what the..." was all that came, not the wow stunned silence or the that shocked me in a way that was probably intended "what the", it was the "what the" of a man who had just sat through one of the worst films ever (not the worst just a very very bad film) and i had to agree with him.
The film seemed to miss the ideas that i desperately wanted it to go more deeply into. Instead trying to make you stutter "why is she..." and "what is she...." as many times as possible. The ending just capped it off for me how ludicrous and pathetic i wholly wanted to scream out loud but was too sucked in by the bitter disappointment of what might have been.
From the four hour (ok thats an exaggeration but not a big one) close up of kidmans face as she 'struggles with inner demons' watery eyes and concerned expression included to the naked bath with a ten yr old and the severe spanking the boy received at the hands of kidmans fiancée (for kicking his chair) this film was uncomfortably poor. The twists at the end whilst not predictable just seemed put in at the last moment as kind of a redemption for the unfaltering lethargy the film had possessed in unfolding the plot.
And seriously the ending come on, i don't want a happily ever after Hollywood ending but one that made the slightest amount of sense would be really helpful.
This could have been a good film but sadly misses the mark, the great potential for a provocative little film is quashed by what seems like a need to make you squirm instead of think. If you haven't seen it don't bother and if you have there is no way to claim compensation for the amount of your time you lost i looked into it.
Women Talking Dirty (1999)
Fantastic little film about friendship and those meddlin' men with a brilliant Edinburgh setting.
well i saw this film at about 1 and so half expected it to be utterly pants and uninteresting fluff. therefore i was pleasantly surprised when after seeing the film i wanted to buy it. it juxtaposed brilliantly the vivacious yet somewhat uncontrollable Cora against the more reserved Ellen yet managed to maintain the believability of there relationship. The scene where Cora goes slightly mad in the supermarket after a delayed reaction to her almost fatal car accident stands out, as does Ellen's realisation that she wasn't able to be herself when she was with Daniel (whilst standing on top of a large purple sofa swinging a cushion). The friendship was portrayed well and there was the sense that this was both characters only real female friendship so when Cora couldn't tell Ellen about her night with Daniel and the result you could understand. One of its few failings in my view was that it gave you glimpses of a great supporting cast yet never really let you get to know them, so although the film was based around the central female protagonists it would have been nice to see a bit more of them. Helena Bonham-Carter and Gina McKee were great and the story itself was engaging and sweet and the ending felt very "girl power" ish but believable none the less. Fantastic little film about friendship and those meddlin men with a brilliant Edinburgh setting.