What a sad story!
...and no, I don't mean the story idea - - which is actually a brilliant, truthfilled, and uplifting tale of the endgame of life...
No, I'm referring to the needlessly complicated stylizations of the screenplay and the too-soon-out-of film school artsyness of the direction - - they sap the life out of this film.
Even sadder, is seeing the masterful performance of acting craftsman Michael Caine - - yet another fine turn by this wily veteran, here set adrift amongst the storm tossed waves of the aforementioned artsy stylization. Damn you film theory!!!
Still, it was almost possible to hack out a re-edit of the movie in my head as I watched it - - there's a fine film jumbled up in this heap
*.
out of *I recommend that any aspiring storytellers/screenwriters/directors try this as an exercise:
Buy the DVD of this film, watch it, study it, then re-edit it on iMovie or Movie Maker on your computer into a better movie. Don't spend a ton 'o' time, just get at it, and cut your own cut. (
Note: This is a beginner's exercise. Stay tuned for more advanced missions down the road.)