Meandering story

I watched this on an airplane which might explain some of the reasons I didn’t like it. It just comes off as very light and superficial. The story meanders through the life of this literary couple, their affairs, excesses, and eventual break-up. It never focuses in enough to make you care about them, understand them or their relationships. Their literary fame is a puzzle too. For instance, throughout the film they repeat one simplistic, dull quote from her first novel, which makes you wonder why her writing is so celebrated.

Also, too many campy photo shoot close-ups of Knightley. She’s pretty but her looks cannot be a substitute for acting. Directors like to zero in on her face but her expressions with pouty lips and Melania-Trump-like squint eyes are static and goofy.