I've seen the promo for this on BBC a ton of times, and I'm confused as to why a preview of people fighting and a lady batting her eyes would draw in an audience who aren't already interested in Elizabeth Taylor and/or Richard Burton.
shareI've wondered the same thing. I suppose we'll find out when it actually airs on BBCA later tonight. I'm not all that interested in Taylor/Burton and their romance, but curious enough to give up 2 hours of my time to give it a try.
I will say that, in the promos at least, Helena Bonham Carter appears to have been disastrously miscast as Liz Taylor. Her hair (wigs?) in the promos looks terrible - why does it appear to be ORANGE in some scenes?? - and her resemblance to Taylor is minimal. (At least in the Lifetime film Liz & Dick, Lindsay Lohan LOOKED passably like Taylor, even if her acting and accent were dreadful.) Plus the scene where Bonham Carter winks and blows a kiss to the camera is just horrendously OTT and cringe-worthy.
But, that's just off the 30-some seconds of footage most of us have seen. I'll reserve final judgement till after the premiere ...
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Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans.
Those pantomime-type scenes in the preview were from the play "Private Lives."
This film is the story of a relationship, and aging, and tormented self-loathing people (Burton). It didn't matter to me that the actors didn't overly resemble the people they were portraying - one became so absorbed in the performances.
It was interesting and done with sensitivity. You felt for these people who had fallen from the heady days of their epic romance and worldwide fame, and were now dealing with infirmity and addiction.
I grew up watching Elizabeth Taylor movies (mostly the ones where she was a little girl) on VHS. But I never really thought she was all that great, though she was pretty. When I would see her on television, an overpainted (and to me) annoying woman, I wasn't really that big a fan either. I still think of her as an actress who got her roles mostly because of her looks.
So I probably would not have watched this if Helena Bonham Carter had not been playing the part. I try to watch as many of her movies as I can given my squeamishness where blood is concerned (Sweeney Todd is out, lol) but didn't expect to really like this one. To my surprise, my husband and I laughed our heads off. I think it will probably appeal most to people who at least know who Burton and Taylor are and have seen some of their movies, and maybe also to people like me who are fans of the cast. Unless one knew ahead of time that it was going to be this good though, I wouldn't expect it to be a big draw. More of a "well,here's another of those biography movies on telly, might as well watch it," sort of thing.
I'm not exactly a fan. I mean, I've only seen a few of their movies. I liked this movie (not just compared to LIZ & DICK), because it's... well, a movie. It's not like a non-fan won't understand what's going on (they explain it well).
shareThis very little movie is all played for derisive laughs.
Why is the British Broadcasting Corporation using taxpayers money to make a film that is set in another country and to laugh at caricatures of two actors past their prime?