Finally I saw this Christmas release.
I was a little underwhelmed in some respects and quite overwhelmed in others.
It's a 3D film that must be seen in 3D. Scorsese uses 3D in an intelligent way
to
try to capture some of the magic at the birth of cinema. The art direction,
set decoration, photography,
movement, blocking, staging, and
production values are at once grand and astonishing. It's worth seeing for
that alone.
As a kids' film, it is a little too grown-up, I think. For age 10 and above.
Not that there is anything objectionable in it; I just wonder if it can
hold the attention of a young kid. It is not short. In fact, it may be a
little
too long for someone who is not absolutely enthralled with the subject, but
that would not include me.
The movie is Professor Scorsese's ticket to impart his rapturous love
of early cinema. He tries, with remarkable success, to dramatize the
mechanical world of the early 20th century using 3D to make it all come
alive and to lionize the tinkerers, chemists, cameramen and directors who
literally invented
moving pictures.
As a testament to Scorsese's abilities as a director especially his power
to harness vision within an enormous production, the film is impressive.
Seeing this movie on TV in 2D will be almost like missing it.
It's a movie-lovers movie and it is large.
How was I perhaps a little underwhelmed? The Cinema is
the star of this movie. This is not a star-turn picture. The acting is good,
but Scorsese never lets these actors, with the exception of Sacha Baron-Cohen,
whom
he doesn't seem able to control entirely,
get anywhere near stealing this picture. In this sense, the film is the polar
opposite
of a movie like TREE OF LIFE where the actors are unleashed to carry the film or
MONEYBALL which is old fashioned Brad Pitt movie star stuff cooked to
perfection.
K.
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