a decent cast but wow what dreadful acting! this movie just floundered in its own self-complacency. so flat and devoid of any depth. no character presented any sort of conviction, they just read their lines. a shame too, i love PSH, but he phoned it in.
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Are you serious? This is one of his most powerful performances. The "unleash your passion" scene alone is transcendent.
shareGod....You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Hoffman was SUPERB. And the rest were very good as well.
It's a great little film.
I find your post bizarre, but respect your right to your opinion. I enjoyed and was moved by the movie and the acting, which I found to be marvelous.
Multiplex: 100+ shows a day, NONE worth watching. John Sayles' latest: NO distribution. SAD.
Cereal Cinema, I don't think you picked up on the fabric of these characters' relationship. Not only have they closely known each other for decades—there is even a love triangle—but also they play together in a quartet, one of the best ones. Can you even fathom the extent of their ability to read each other's minds and hearts? It doesn't seem like you can. Because, if you could, you would understand how their at times understated and laconic turns weren't at all "flat and devoid of any depth". These people know each other so well they might as well communicate everything with their eyebrows. Also, it is outright bizarre, to use another poster's word, to surmise that Keener, Hoffman and Walken, famed for being able to approach their characters with so much depth that they can save even a shoddy script, are suddenly fine with doing just the opposite in the one movie in which they get to act together. Your post is so bizarre I thought you were a troll, but then I read some of your other posts. You seem to appreciate non-Hollywood cinema, but you also give off the vibe that you're in your cocky mid twenties. Do you get a kick out of knocking the greats? Fine, maybe not. Maybe you're being sincere through and through. In that case, I'll have you know: that no one understands you doesn't make you an artist.
no i am db
I loved the acting, but I have to say much of the writing felt overwrought to me.
shareagree on everything except PSH. He's always good, he did a great job with a very poorly written character and awful lines, so give him a break.
The others were, indeed, dismal.
Check out Emma Stone in Birdman to see what Alex (the daughter's) character *should have been*.
I think it was mostly the screenplay and probably the directing as well that didn't allow for the amazing performances we were expecting from these actors. It was a very dull and stiff movie. Sure, they've all been working together in the quartet for 20+ years but how do we know that? Through the characters telling us that information. The characters don't interact with each other like we'd expect them to. There is almost no chemistry between the supposed husband and wife. I know they're supposed to have marital problems but I honestly didn't see them as being married at all. It just wasn't obvious to the viewer. And that is the problem with this movie. It isn't a believable movie.
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