Rating of
2.5/4
Decent
Nerva - wrote on 01/20/11
When all is said and done I'm actually pleasantly surprised by this movie. First the bad: As for it being a romance it falls horribly short. It falls into the same shortcomings as many other romance movies who choose the lazy rout of sticking boy A and girl B into a room together and the audience is supposed to believe they are insanely in love with one another when no reasoning for this is ever shown. In fact this movie is one of the worst I've ever seen in that area. The one thing that is said about these characters is they had known eachother for years, barely spoke despite their close proximity and literally in the span of one day and two less than 5 minute conversations about basically nothing they are madly in love to the point they are willing to wait relentlessly for one another for over 5 years? I cannot stand when writers don't take the time to build relationships into their story instead just relying on the audience not to care that they haven't done their job properly.
The acting was bland but thats what I've come to expect from Kira Knightley she looks the part but cant act her way out of a paper bag. The same expressions over and over again, her face is completely blank, she shows nothing.
The good: Cinematography was great. It might be a cliche now to use those dimmed hues on any and all period pieces but I for one love them, they do a great job of setting the mood and allowing you to just bask in the background for a moment. The actual story line, that of the sister who reported the crime is told extremely well. I absolutely loved the ending portion of the story and how they tied it together it was one of the most unique things I've seen in a movie like this and it really worked.
All in all I could recommend this movie, not for anyone looking to watch a romance but for someone who would like to see a decent drama about the road to redemption and inner struggles with guilt.
