Wow.

Saw this for the FIRST time yesterday on IFC. Completely uncut.

It was a truly fascinating film, and one HELL of a performance by DDL.

9.3/10 A-

B


I have wanted to see this movie for Daniel Day Lewis' hugely acclaimed performance for a long time and at last, shortly after seeing There Will Be Blood, I got to see it. I must say that out of the three major Daniel-Day Lewis' films I have seen (not counting In the Name of the Father because I barely remember it at all), this stands to me as the least memorable one with Gangs of New York slightly ahead of it. Still it's a good movie and what I said doesn't apply to Daniel Day-Lewis' dazzling, stupendous performance as the paralysed Christy Brown. I'd say that he's ahead of his turn as Bill the Butcher here and just a tad behind his now-iconic Daniel Plainview. Watching Lewis play the character seemed so authentic that it was actually painful seeing him with all the spasms and his struggles. Not for a second did I see Daniel Day-Lewis, the actor, there, but I saw a strongly handicapped man trapped in his body, yet doing his best to break out of its shell.

The movie itself rarely rises above a standard biopic, I thought. Yes, there's a certain difficult relationship with the father figure as usual (a drinking father who, despite what it seems at first, loves his son), a loving and suportive woman, mishaps in the personal life, problems with alcohol and so on and so on. It's the acting that carries this piece and never lets it become boring. I can't praise Daniel Day-Lewis enough for brining the character to life, but it's not just him who make this movie a lasting experience: Brenda Fricker as Christy's mother, Ray McAnally as his father and Fiona Shaw as the doctor who helps Christy develop his talents and overcome some of his physical struggles add a lot to this film. It's just too bad that the biopic of such an extraordinary man stil turned out to be so...ordinary, despite the excellent acting on everyone's behalf.

It's alright. Actually not as terrible as I was expecting. I think the extremely low budget helps it, as it gives it a cheap, impoverished look that fits the setting well.

Of course, it's hopelessly predictable beyond belief, but there were still moments that surprised and shocked me (in a good way) due to their candor and fly-off-the-handle nature - the pub fight, for one, or Christy's outburst in the restaurant. The film is at its best at these times, when it does away with the paralyzing structure of the conventional biopic and tries to be something different. Alas, it occurs far too seldom.

DDL is amazing, though, as he manages to deliver a simultaneously physically and emotionally challenging performance. It's one of the few roles I've seen that defies the baity handicapped performance, in that he actually tries to bring personality to the character. It's not just him pretending to be disabled. He's actually acting. Unfortunately, he outshines the rest of the movie.

I wish it had more balls, but it was okay for what it was. I didn't hate it. It's no Rain Man, for sure.