"Innocence" has a startling premise -- that senior citizens have feelings, even romantic and sexual feelings.
The cinematography is luscious, as the golden memories of youth overtake current reality in a triangle transposed to a later time of life.
But the premise of a re-blossoming of first love and look of this Australian movie (shot partly in Belgium) is better than its execution. The dialog is a bit clunky and stagey -- I got so tired of the woman saying to the man: "You haven't changed in 40 years." Do people really not change based on life experiences? Sure seemed to me she was projecting the past on to him, or maybe it was a weakness in the acting.
I wanted to know more about their lives over that time that made them who they are now; there was a disconnect directly to their adolescent memories.
But none of the characters are stereotypes, and all are intelligent, including the adult children. The ending is nicely bittersweet.
(originally written 9/29/2001)
The cinematography is luscious, as the golden memories of youth overtake current reality in a triangle transposed to a later time of life.
But the premise of a re-blossoming of first love and look of this Australian movie (shot partly in Belgium) is better than its execution. The dialog is a bit clunky and stagey -- I got so tired of the woman saying to the man: "You haven't changed in 40 years." Do people really not change based on life experiences? Sure seemed to me she was projecting the past on to him, or maybe it was a weakness in the acting.
I wanted to know more about their lives over that time that made them who they are now; there was a disconnect directly to their adolescent memories.
But none of the characters are stereotypes, and all are intelligent, including the adult children. The ending is nicely bittersweet.
(originally written 9/29/2001)