Part I: C-/D+. The first segment features particularly embarrassing dialogue and direction that seems like a parody. The horrible chemistry between Norah Jones and Jude Law can be blamed equally on Jones' incompetence and Law's deteriorating skills as an actor.

Part II: A-. Jones is fine in the second segment, and Wong returns to form creating a strong sense of mood and pulling award-calibre performances from Strathairn and Weisz.

Part III: B+. Jones improves her performance even more here, while Natalie Portman is good although not quite to the level of other gambling powerhouses in past Wong films. This segment is most reminescent of Wong's past work.

Part IV: B-/C+. Norah Jones and Jude Law again. Despite some horrid dialogue, this was eons better than their first segment.

B overall.

i'm excited

That all pretty much in detail sums up my thoughts.

B


As I said above, I mostly agree with alex young's analysis of the film that can easily be broken up into the four parts he has named. I must admit that it's the first Wong Kar Wai film I have seen, but I mostly knew what to expect going into it as I read a lot about his previous works.

I love the way he set up the mood for the film. The dark bars, the neon lights, the big anonymous city...he uses these elements perfectly to creatre exactly the kind of an atmosphere he wants for this film. It's very intimate at times and anonymous at others. However, I really really could have done without all the unnecessary grainy slow-motion shots which severly detracted from my enjoyment of the film and sadly make up for about half of the movie (or at least I felt like they do).

The scenes with Jude Law and Norah Jones are surprisingly (and sadly) the worst in the film. Law is rather mediocre which is too bad since I know he's a gifted actor. Norah Jones, in her first acting foray, does a solid job, but failsto leave a lasting impression either. She mostly just stares with deeply sad, deer-eyes. I think she improves over the course of the movie, certainly having her very distinct style of acting which I just never became a fan of. Law and Jones also don't really share much chemistry either, though I must say that some of their moments together are beautifully photographed (like that kiss you see on the film's poster.

Much better on the other hand is the segment with Rachel Weisz and David Strathairn both delivering award-caliber performances. I was really into their story and their characters, feeling with and for them. Natalie Portman's segment was a step-down, but still very solid with Portman being her usual good self. The Law/Jones segments start and finish the film and I thought that the movie ends well on an unusually optimistic and positive note and after having suffered with other characters throughout this film I must say that I was happy about this ending.

All in al, I think the movie is a mixed-bag. It is fairly obvious that the guy directing it knows his stuff, knows how to create good characters and set a mood. However, he really overuses some of the technical devices (oh boy, that slow-mo camera...argh!) and the leads don't have much chemistry which is a sad flaw of this otherwise well-intended and for a big part well-done film. For once, this is a movie where you don't say "Oh it started off great" or "Well it became much better in the final third". It's the movie in which the mid-section is by far the best.

I'd equate this film to one of those glowing bug zapper things.

You know you shouldn't go near it but the damn bright lights and humming just draw you in making you forget you are going towards impending death!!

The story is so lightweight and wispy a strong wind would blow it over while the over-usage of slo-mo had me fighting an urge to kick kittens at more then one point. But despite all this the films mood and style outweighed those issues and allowed me to enjoy the experience on an aesthetic level if nothing else.

Flawed but pretty.

I'm surprised by the first section hate. That was my favorite part by far. It's elegant and natural and I bought it into it completely. Jones is a bit theatrical throughout, and that does sorta make it awkward when she's dealing with more talented actors (but fuck it - people are awkward). Beyond that, I was enthralled by the beauty (of both the film and story). When the story loses focus on Elizabeth and towards Arnie, it lost me a bit; he's just not an interesting character on his own. Weisz makes that part work. And the third part is almost as good as the first. Portman plays this big-sister thing perfectly.

I think visually it's one of my favorites from WKW. It's like Kieslowski + Godard + plenty of WKW's own style. It's actually distractingly beautiful at times. But it really works, tying together people and places and presenting them as idealized as Lizzy's budding love for life.

I dunno. I'll reread this when I'm less stoned and see if it makes sense, but I found very much to love and very little to not.

I didn't hate the first part of this film as much as some, but will say it was by far the weakest aspect of the film. I think the main problem I had with this is the over use of style and the under use or lack of, substance. Aside from the annoying use of slo-mo in damn near every freaking scene the film is quite beautiful to look at but, it's just lacking that certain something in the story department to make it a really good film. I'll agree that the film really works in the middle when Weisz, Strathairn and Portman are included in the mix and Jones does get better as the film progresses. But put an inexperienced actor up against some heavyweights and their flaws really shine through.

Grade B-/C+

I pretty much entirely agree with this reviews, especially about the mid-section and the use of slo-mo.

I remember reading in some reviews a while ago that if this was a foreign Wong Kar Wai film then critics would be drooling over this. I agree, I'm surprised this got not that great reviews.

I think the whole ensemble was great, as is the film.

It's definitely understandable why critics weren't crazy about it, but I thought it was pretty good. Flawed for sure, but solid.

Grade: 7/10 (B-)