Saw it. Its a very bad adaptation of Wonderful Life/Christmas Carole. Douglas is great but the director marginalizes him. Save your money.
shareIt was not intended to ge an adaptation of It's a Wonderful Life or Christmas Carol, but rather of a French play. How does the director marginalize him?
If the director had taken the camera off himself long enough to dramatize some of the Douglas stuff, maybe given him a scene that shows us how far the father comes in his transition into enlightenment...it could have been amazing and far more balanced. Instead we get to see the son's journey. We sit through three unbearably LONG rambling and disconnected vignettes that have nothing to do with the fathers' Akashic lessons. Granted Douglas sits in a chair reacting, (and shot only from the waste up) but come on...??? They should have cut into the vignettes and written Douglas' character so he moves internally from beginning to end. Perhaps, more heart felt scenes with the editor or with the interviewer could have helped. Instead, they have snappy dialogue about hazel nuts in coffee that take us nowhere near the man.
Unfortunately, Douglas is left to sit (as we the audience does) in a movie house and watch his son go through life. BORING!!!
Yet, even marginalized, Douglas knocks it out of the park and his uncanny ability to make something out of nothing is the ONLY reason there is a smidgeon of truth in this movie.
Only after the Director shot the three vignettes of Christopher's life in sequence over the course of 4 years, using the first to get funding for the second, and then using the second to get funding for the third part, did he have enough of a story to seek a big Hollywood name for the part of the father. Douglas was the only older actor to get excited enough about the possibilities to take the part without guarantee of a large paycheck.
Yes, Douglas is a big reason that this film worked so well, but mostly because he is a master, showing us in the audience how to react to the difficulties facing his his character’s son. His screen time is just about right for the story, and Douglas certainly is not marginalized. At 87, how many other actors could pull off this part?
This is a remarkable film, which works really well, with lots better continuity than some classic films that were filmed over several years as money became available, such as Othello by Orson Welles.
WoW your option means so little to me this movie is prob the best movie i have saw this year & i see way to many movies its a wonderful life makes me want to puke & how is it even in same cargory as Xmas story cause it shows three slices of his life? if any movies its a bit like the butterfly effect/the jacket
sharejust got this movie in the mail today, and watched it. absolutely loved it, so did my husband. i dont know what some of you are talkin about on here. its very good and nothing like that christmas movie. i agree that it is more like butterfly effect and the jacket. it was a very refreshing movie.
share