Horrific acting, except from all supporting actors and the baby.
Richard E. Grant is just too hard to watch, not hideously bad, just hard to watch. His kitschy and formulaic approach to the character is somewhat embarrassing (and his haircut is beyond awful--where was the make-up dept anyway!!?? 1995 or not, it was hideous). Samantha Mathis definitely shouldn't be sharing any scenes with the likes of Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, or Ian McKellan. Mathis is incredibly hard to watch as it is, then when she shares scenes with all of the above it just makes her look BEYOND FOOLISH. It was almost like watching a "scene study" exercise in acting class, where you feel incredibly sorry for the girl in the scene because she just isn't believable and is truly hard to watch. Mathis is beyond lucky to be acting opposite Dench, Atkins and McKellan. Almost as though someone pulled some "favor" to get her into this film. There are so many thousands of other talented American actresses who would have made this character so much more brilliant! What a total disaster, and tragedy of wasted celluloid. The only reason to watch this movie is for the supporting cast. For that matter, it seems that the supporting cast members were the only reason this movie could have been produced in the first place. With a terribly weak script, BAD BAD BAD lead actors, and trite resolution to the story who would sink money into this without the assurance of some real acting talent.
It's truly amazing what a McKellan, Dench, and Atkins can make possible. Leave the real acting to the real actors next time! Please!
Richard E. Grant is just too hard to watch, not hideously bad, just hard to watch. His kitschy and formulaic approach to the character is somewhat embarrassing (and his haircut is beyond awful--where was the make-up dept anyway!!?? 1995 or not, it was hideous). Samantha Mathis definitely shouldn't be sharing any scenes with the likes of Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, or Ian McKellan. Mathis is incredibly hard to watch as it is, then when she shares scenes with all of the above it just makes her look BEYOND FOOLISH. It was almost like watching a "scene study" exercise in acting class, where you feel incredibly sorry for the girl in the scene because she just isn't believable and is truly hard to watch. Mathis is beyond lucky to be acting opposite Dench, Atkins and McKellan. Almost as though someone pulled some "favor" to get her into this film. There are so many thousands of other talented American actresses who would have made this character so much more brilliant! What a total disaster, and tragedy of wasted celluloid. The only reason to watch this movie is for the supporting cast. For that matter, it seems that the supporting cast members were the only reason this movie could have been produced in the first place. With a terribly weak script, BAD BAD BAD lead actors, and trite resolution to the story who would sink money into this without the assurance of some real acting talent.
It's truly amazing what a McKellan, Dench, and Atkins can make possible. Leave the real acting to the real actors next time! Please!