| Almost from the beginning, I felt covered by a blanket of dread. For some reason, the film affected me to such an extent that I-at least while sitting in the theater-lost objectivity as a critic. The topic, the screenplay, and the excellent acting, combined to create one of the most depressing films in recent memory. War of the Roses comes to mind as a comparison, but that was billed as a black comedy, so too, Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf .
Here, we are presented with a young couple. When we first meet them, they are full of love, dreams and hope-with absolutely no room for the ordinary. In the very next scene we see them both out of love, disappointed, beaten by time, and eviscerating each other. From that point on, it never gets any better, and for the viewer the film moves inevitably towards its tragic end. And its message that the unexamined life is monotonous, tedious, numbing. Kate Winslet and the director can take, and deserve, full credit for the film. For, if one is to measure a film, or theater, by its ability to convey emotion to the audience, this one has succeeded.
| This film sparked much discussion with our movie-going friends. It was widely agreed that the acting was phenomenal; Kate Winslet is perfect in the role of the 1950’s housewife and Leonardo DiCaprio, her husband, although looking still like a teenager portrays the role as if he was born to it. The disagreement comes from the “enjoyment” level of the movie. If you spend time in the movies to be entertained, you may not like this film, depending on your definition of the word “entertainment”. Certainly not light-hearted it is dramatically interesting and very dark over-all. See it and you decide.
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Phil - Must See Now!
Carol - Must See Now!