This was better than anticipated, but it could have excelled even more.
I did like the pacing of some scenes. There were standout performances from Langella, Cohen (his Mass accent was overwrought and distracting), and Abdul-Mateen II. Redmayne tried his hardest, but his delivery felt pushed. I think he was miscast.
The rest of the cast did well, but there was one blatant misstep in the film: the female characters were minimized. It seems like writers would know better by now...
Unlike most viewers, I have challenges with Sorkin's writing, and I think I've figured out why I can't get into the flow: it seems like he has a need to be clever, humorous, and entertaining.... this comes across in the text and the tone. Because of his approach, I feel like the potential gravitas of his work is compromised, and the results are too glossy.
And so I wonder: what would happened if Clint Eastwood had written and directed a film based on these events? If Paul Thomas Anderson had taken on this subject, I'm certain his interpretation would have been deeply intriguing.
I did like the pacing of some scenes. There were standout performances from Langella, Cohen (his Mass accent was overwrought and distracting), and Abdul-Mateen II. Redmayne tried his hardest, but his delivery felt pushed. I think he was miscast.
The rest of the cast did well, but there was one blatant misstep in the film: the female characters were minimized. It seems like writers would know better by now...
Unlike most viewers, I have challenges with Sorkin's writing, and I think I've figured out why I can't get into the flow: it seems like he has a need to be clever, humorous, and entertaining.... this comes across in the text and the tone. Because of his approach, I feel like the potential gravitas of his work is compromised, and the results are too glossy.
And so I wonder: what would happened if Clint Eastwood had written and directed a film based on these events? If Paul Thomas Anderson had taken on this subject, I'm certain his interpretation would have been deeply intriguing.