PERHAPS A MAGNUM OPUS
Added 2/1/2010
If you are a fan of Ralph Fiennes and have not seen this movie then you haven't seen what he can really do. His characterization of the frail, nervous, minister's son, is one of finest performances on film, and the one that made me a lifelong fan. He never steps out of character, and it is amazing, even seeing this a second time, how he perfected the spastic, hand movements, and the general "twitchiness" of the character, that implies some kind of neurological defect but never mentions it. In spite of this, Oscar is a visionary, internally courageous, with dreams and ambitions, who sets out to realize his ambitions, in spite of his physical flaws. Cate Blanchett is the perfect foil as a gutsy heiress determined to achieve something in life, and the two of them form a complete whole together. While both are superlative, this if Fiennes' picture, probably his very best performance on film. He has more "acting" to do here, and he wins over his audience early on, surviving his harsh upbringing, to find his way as a minister in a different religion than his father's. You will be distracted by the magnificent cinematography and the leisurely, sybaritic pace of the film, but if you keep focusing on just what Fiennes is doing and how amazingly well he does it, you will shake your head in disbelief that his characterization is so perfect and so well delineated. His performance elevates him into that exclusive pantheon of all-time greats where Olivier and Depardieu reside. Long after you have forgotten what the plot was about, the abuse and the violence, you will remember that this was his finest work.
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This is a very unusual story, boardering on unbelievable. But then - - is everything suppose to be believable? Entertaining.
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OSCAR AND LUCINDA
Added 11/28/2009
The delivery was excellent but the DVD was dry and i found uninteresting.
I just could not get into the story.
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"Where is the sin?"
Added 5/18/2009
Ralph Fiennes was good in this movie. It is amazing to me that he was able to so transform himself into this character. In my opinion his performance was better than Blanchett's though she was good also. The story is kind of deep with lots of different angles, the religious angle is both mystical and traditional/conventional. Story takes place in the late 1800s in Australia, New South Wales - not surprisingly, the scenery is lush and beautiful. But beyond scenery, there are some real sublime moments in the human drama as well. Fiennes character is deeply religious and bases his communication with God almost on I Ching style divination tactics. That is, heads or tails will help him determine what he beleives God wants him to do.
To come up with money to meet the basic necessities of living, he takes to betting on horse racing after a friend introduces him to the pastime. He keeps what he needs and gives the rest to the poor. His faith seems to keep him winning. It starts to become a real issue for him though when he realizes he is no longer using the gambling simply as a means to an end, but that in fact he is enjoying the thrill of it as well. There is a hilarious scene where, somehow by mistake Blanchett's character has come to him for confession and when she confesses that she loves to gamble, Fiennes character comes to the conclusion that gambling cannot really be a sin since to beleive in God already is the greatest gamble - those who beleive weigh the odds and are finally betting that He does exist. Since this belief itself is the ultimate wager - how could God fault a person for wagers much smaller and of much less importance - dice or cards for example?
"Where is the sin? We bet. It is all in Pascal. We bet that there is a God. We bet our lives on it. We calculate the odds and the return.. Our anxiety about our bet wakes us before dawn in a cold sweat. And God sees us suffer. I cannot beleive that such a God, whose fundamental requirement of us is that we gamble our souls - it's true, we stake everything on the fact of His existence -- I cannot beleive that such a God can look unkindly on a chap wagering a few quid on the likelihood of a dumb animal crossing the line first..... unless... unless it might be considered a blasphemy to apply to common pleasure that which is divine."
Oscar is not without his personal demons, mostly in the form of ideals that he is constantly trying to live up to. The ending of the movie was something of a shock, loaded with symbolic possibilities and plain poetry, in a word (see 'a glass church').
I saw an Australian version of this DVD. The cover shows Oscar holding a 5 of diamonds, not a 5 of hearts. I think I prefer the 5 of diamonds and the clear-eyed expression of the actors rather than the 'romantic' look of the Stateside version. The movie is more than a romance - although it is a love story as tragic as any by Shakespeare. This movie is not a high speed ride, but it is watchable all the same.
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I Hate This Movie
Added 12/21/2008
Look, if you really want to see an amazing piece of Fiennes work from this period of his career, go English Patient, yes I know it's cliché and maybe you've already scene it but it's so damned good. See it again.
0 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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PERHAPS A MAGNUM OPUS
Added 2/1/2010
If you are a fan of Ralph Fiennes and have not seen this movie then you haven't seen what he can really do. His characterization of the frail, nervous, minister's son, is one of finest performances on film, and the one that made me a lifelong fan. He never steps out of character, and it is amazing, even seeing this a second time, how he perfected the spastic, hand movements, and the general "twitchiness" of the character, that implies some kind of neurological defect but never mentions it. In spite of this, Oscar is a visionary, internally courageous, with dreams and ambitions, who sets out to realize his ambitions, in spite of his physical flaws. Cate Blanchett is the perfect foil as a gutsy heiress determined to achieve something in life, and the two of them form a complete whole together. While both are superlative, this if Fiennes' picture, probably his very best performance on film. He has more "acting" to do here, and he wins over his audience early on, surviving his harsh upbringing, to find his way as a minister in a different religion than his father's. You will be distracted by the magnificent cinematography and the leisurely, sybaritic pace of the film, but if you keep focusing on just what Fiennes is doing and how amazingly well he does it, you will shake your head in disbelief that his characterization is so perfect and so well delineated. His performance elevates him into that exclusive pantheon of all-time greats where Olivier and Depardieu reside. Long after you have forgotten what the plot was about, the abuse and the violence, you will remember that this was his finest work.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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This is a very unusual story, boardering on unbelievable. But then - - is everything suppose to be believable? Entertaining.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
OSCAR AND LUCINDA
Added 11/28/2009
The delivery was excellent but the DVD was dry and i found uninteresting.
I just could not get into the story.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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