Nightmarish reviews for Woody's 'Cassandra's Dream'
Lucky for Woody Allen he's got a sense of humor. Unfortunately, there's nothing to induce a chuckle or a smile in the hatchet reviews of his "Cassandra's Dream" by Hollywood Reporter and Variety after viewing it at the Venice fest.
Hollywood Reporter: "Woody Allen's 'Cassandra's Dream' is a humorless misfire that wastes the talents of some fine actors including Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell and Tom Wilkinson while continuing the mystery of Colin Farrell's appeal to major filmmakers. As writer, Allen offers lazy plotting, poor characterization, dull scenes and flat dialogue. As director, he makes no demands on the abundant talents of cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and composer Philip Glass. He employs predictable and illogical London and countryside locations. And he abandons good players to do what they can with the material at hand while allowing Farrell to mumble his way through another indifferent performance." READ MORE
Variety: "Like a tragic overture played at the wrong tempo and slightly off-key, Woody Allen's London-set 'Cassandra's Dream' sends out more mixed signals than an inebriated telegraphist. On the face of it a "serious Woody," following two brothers embroiled in murder, pic is actually a low-key, bumpy black comedy whose humor stems from the perhaps deliberate awkwardness of the characterizations and dialogue. A relatively easy sit, thanks to energetic perfs by Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell, pic still fails to satisfy fully on any level . . . . Judged as either black comedy or a semi-drama, pic lacks the irony that informs Allen's best movies -- replaced here by a rather condescending attitude toward all the characters. READ MORE
(Photo: Weinstein Co.)
I went to a screening of this film with a friend that got tickets etc
The first 5 minutes........ugh.....the next 15 minutes PAINFUL
We walked out.......it was like a very very bad play and the characters were too stiff
Every scene I pictured in my head the director stating "action"
It was as if these too actors were nervous and you could feel that energy while watching the film
WE left at the boat scene (which is about 15 min. into the film)
It felt like Sir Woodman went for lunch and left the camera running having the actors talk on and on about nothing
FRIG it SUCKED!
Posted by: NoFixedAddress | September 15, 2007 at 05:32 PM
Hmm, the Hollywood Reporter review is too negative. I mean questioning where Allen's career is headed? Whenever I read a review like that of a Woody Allen movie I wonder how much of it still has to do with Soon-Yi. And Variety says that Vilmos Zsigmond's work was drab? Okay. Somehow I think I'll be seeing this anyway.
Posted by: Aura | September 05, 2007 at 07:47 AM
It's a shame a very talented actor like Ewan McGregor who could have fit right in to the "Golden Age" of Hollywood is stuck working in the Age of Mediocrity we now live in. Here's hoping he finds better material, but I'm a fan so I'll even suffer through a Woody Allen movie in the meantime.
Posted by: Everett Engbers | September 04, 2007 at 06:04 PM