Talking to a friend recently about films she was keen on taking a look at,I got told about an interesting-sounding Costume Drama starring Robert Pattinson.With having recently been impressed by Pattinson's performance in the gritty Post-Apocalypse film The Rover,I decided that it was the perfect time to uncover The History of a Scoundrel.
The plot:
Paris 1890-
Penniless since he left the battle field, soldier Georges Duroy is happy to run into his wealthy old friend Charles Forestier.Sad to see how poor his friend has become,Forestier decides to invite Duroy to stay with him and his wife Mrs. Madeleine Forestier.Taken by Duroy's charms,Madeleine introduces Duroy to her friends Clotilde de Marelle & Virginie Rousset.Learning that Charles now edits a newspaper,Duroy decides to take advantage of Madeleine and her pals attraction to him,as Duroy sets his sights on leaving his penniless life behind.
View on the film:
Whilst some of the dialogue sounds far too modern for late 1800s Paris, Rachel Bennette's adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's novel,does well at painting a cruel atmosphere,thanks to Bennette showing the desire for power to be the fuel behind all of Georges Duroy's relationships.Taking a slightly anthology style approach to each of Duroy's liaisons, Bennette is disappointingly unable to give the relationships any feeling of depth,due to Bennette giving the characters an outline which is only skin deep,which also causes Duroy's rise to power to feel rather abrupt,and not reaching the dark dramatic notes that the film desires.
Transferring from the stage to the cinema, directors Nick Ormerod & Declan Donnellan superbly use deep rich blues to show the riches that Duroy is gathering for himself,which are haunted by a dark charcoal blacks,which are slowly draped over the film,as Duroy discovers the lies behind his riches.Along with the strong blues & blacks,the directors also give the movie an elegant sheen of light greens and yellows,which make the surprisingly graphic sex scenes sparkle.
Surrounded by a dazzling array of girls, (all of whom look stunning,esp when naked!) Robert Pattinson (who makes sure that it is not all one-sided,by also appearing naked in the film) gives a very good performance as Georges Duroy,thanks to Pattinson showing Duroy's swagger to be one that hides a fear over returning to the bottom of the ladder.Giving Duroy a major bed/step up to power, Uma Thurman gives a wonderful performance as Madeleine Forestier,with Thurman bringing a dominating sass out of Forestier,as Duroy discovers that he has become a scoundrel of history.
The plot:
Paris 1890-
Penniless since he left the battle field, soldier Georges Duroy is happy to run into his wealthy old friend Charles Forestier.Sad to see how poor his friend has become,Forestier decides to invite Duroy to stay with him and his wife Mrs. Madeleine Forestier.Taken by Duroy's charms,Madeleine introduces Duroy to her friends Clotilde de Marelle & Virginie Rousset.Learning that Charles now edits a newspaper,Duroy decides to take advantage of Madeleine and her pals attraction to him,as Duroy sets his sights on leaving his penniless life behind.
View on the film:
Whilst some of the dialogue sounds far too modern for late 1800s Paris, Rachel Bennette's adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's novel,does well at painting a cruel atmosphere,thanks to Bennette showing the desire for power to be the fuel behind all of Georges Duroy's relationships.Taking a slightly anthology style approach to each of Duroy's liaisons, Bennette is disappointingly unable to give the relationships any feeling of depth,due to Bennette giving the characters an outline which is only skin deep,which also causes Duroy's rise to power to feel rather abrupt,and not reaching the dark dramatic notes that the film desires.
Transferring from the stage to the cinema, directors Nick Ormerod & Declan Donnellan superbly use deep rich blues to show the riches that Duroy is gathering for himself,which are haunted by a dark charcoal blacks,which are slowly draped over the film,as Duroy discovers the lies behind his riches.Along with the strong blues & blacks,the directors also give the movie an elegant sheen of light greens and yellows,which make the surprisingly graphic sex scenes sparkle.
Surrounded by a dazzling array of girls, (all of whom look stunning,esp when naked!) Robert Pattinson (who makes sure that it is not all one-sided,by also appearing naked in the film) gives a very good performance as Georges Duroy,thanks to Pattinson showing Duroy's swagger to be one that hides a fear over returning to the bottom of the ladder.Giving Duroy a major bed/step up to power, Uma Thurman gives a wonderful performance as Madeleine Forestier,with Thurman bringing a dominating sass out of Forestier,as Duroy discovers that he has become a scoundrel of history.