MovieChat Forums > Adoration (2009) Discussion > Saw it at SF Film Festival

Saw it at SF Film Festival

posted 15 years ago by luftloft
2 replies | jump to latest

I'm a very big Egoyan fan and it was fun to see him in person. I was bummed that I didn't like the film more. In some ways it reminded me of the early films like "Family viewing," lots of technology, complex family life, questions upon questions. But none of it worked for me.

1. Acting: sucked big time. Arshinee can be a competent actress in the right part but her range in limited and this was a part where she need to be very good. The same with the guy that plays the kid's uncle. Its important for the actor that plays that part to be able to act. Also, the intellectualism embedded in Egoyan's films requires humanizing, you need to get absorbed into a character.

2. There are too many themes and the narrative just wasn't compelling.

3. His style didn't mesh with the story. I don't think think the way he told this story helped make it compelling. Instead it struck me dull and too heady.

Like many writer/directors, I think Egoyan needs strong source material like "Sweet Hereafter" or "Felicia's Journey" to work his magic.

Oh well, I'm sure he will make another great film.

[–] toposito 15 years ago

Very honest review. I haven't seen the film yet, but I've noticed his inconsistency.

[–] WarpedRecord 15 years ago

Were you able to see this for yourself by now? I hope so, because I think it was better than Luftloft gave it credit for. I agree the film was a bit disjointed and had too many narratives, but I found the acting strong and the story very moving once the story's focus and the characters' motives became clearer.

This isn't one of Atom Egoyan's best films, but it ranks right up there with his "midlevel" films like "Ararat" and "Where the Truth Lies," which is still pretty good. I'd love to hear what you think.