Perhaps not on par with the novel but more accessible. Although brilliant and highly original, I think Martin Amis' first book contains some obscure passages and insider English schoolboy jokes. Also, the 1970's setting of the book has been replaced by the 1980's in the movie.
Ione Skye and Dexter Fletcher portray the growing relationship between Rachel & Charles rather well. James Spader fills in nicely as DeForest, the rival boyfriend. The college scene with Michael Gambon as Doctor Knowd is particularly humorous.
A good study in adolescence.
OK, I admit the real reason I first saw this movie...
... ten years ago was because I heard from a friend that Ione Skye had a pair of nude scenes in it. However, I found myself completely taken in by the movie...One scene in particular was priceless. Rachel has just climbed into a taxi and closed the door but left open the window. Just as Charles works up the nerve to try to kiss her through the window and leans foreward, the cab pulls away. The look on his face is pitiful. But when you see her smile back, it's just magical...Oh by the way, Ione Skye DOES take off her clothes repeatedly, so guys who normally shun this sort of movie have a valid reason to watch it, too!
Movies never are as good as the books...
A very good movie, not quite up to the standard of the book it is based on (and follows rather closely).
The book was written from the point of view of the main character, but it has two voices. One was Charles Highway's inner meanderings and pronouncements, the other (still by Charles) was the unadorned, unanalysed description of the things that happened to him. And generally there is a glaring difference between the two - they don't match up. In the view of the first voice, Charles is a wise and funny schemer. But the events related in the second voice show him to be inept, unlucky, and chronically unsure of himself. The ending was similarly riven. You can't tell if things ended-up the way they did by choice or design. Perhaps the author didn't know.
So anyway, the movie has to deal with that dichotomy, and it does it by pretty much ignoring the second voice. Charles comes across as boastful and shallow, for the most part, and a lot less likeable. The film also has to drop a lot of his hilarious caustic monolgues, so it's less funny than the book, too. That being said, there's enough left to allow fans of the book to fill in the blanks, and it doesn't attempt to force in a standard Hollywood ending. Plus the three main actors and the supporting cast were very good - Jonathon Pryce as Charles' deranged uncle is so good that it's hard to keep your eyes on Ione Skye in the few scenes they have together.
Based on Susanna Moore's popular novel, In the Cut centers on Frannie (Meg Ryan), an emotionally stifled English teacher who gets steamy with sultry Malloy (Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count On Me), a cop who's investigating a series of brutal murders--but Frannie soon suspects that Malloy may be the killer. As a psychological thriller, In the Cut is heavier on psychology than thrills; the story is a skeleton that director Jane Campion (The Piano, An Angel at My Table) cloaks in one of the most nightmarish visions of urban life since Taxi Driver or Seven, accompanied by lots of explicit sex. The movie's dark tone will put some viewers off, but Ruffalo's effortless magnetism serves him well; no woman in the audience will question how quickly Ryan... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jennifer Jason Leigh - Meg Ryan - Mark Ruffalo Director(s): Jane Campion DVD Release Date: Released the 10 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Plot is a good thing with this movie. It's entertaining and worth the price of the video/DVD. It's about a couple working together to legally rob his friend. And it's a good idea with a little twist on the ending that's pretty clever. 'The friend' comes out ahead and clean. The Spader Sex is good and it's filmed well with colors that seem dark. The bad thing about this movie is it's dream sequences: they are 100% dumb; I cannot figure out a reason for them. Viewers understand 'the friend' - Spader - the Dream Lover is living a dream...and we can SEE that it's becoming a nightmare, we don't need foolish clowns cut-ins to bop us on the heads and say, "DREAM!" I personaly find it a tad bit unbeliveable that a hot, sweet Sexy Spader would not be the 'dream' of any woman. The female lead in... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Nicholas Kazan DVD Release Date: Released the 01 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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In terms of alluring female nudity, Swimming Pool shows a lot, but it's what remains concealed that gives this erotic thriller a potent, voyeuristic charge. With his Hitchcockian handling of secrets and lies, prolific French director François Ozon reunites with his Under the Sand star, Charlotte Rampling, to tell a seductive tale of murder and complicity, beginning when British mystery novelist Sarah Morton (Rampling) seeks peace and relaxation at her publisher's French villa, only to find his brash, sexually liberated daughter Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) arriving shortly thereafter to disrupt her solitary reverie. What begins as mutual annoyance turns into something more sinister and duplicitous, alternating between Julie's predatory sex with men and Sarah's observant,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Charlotte Rampling - Ludivine Sagnier - Charles Dance Director(s): François Ozon DVD Release Date: Released the 23 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Storyville has always been one of my favorite films, and now it is finally coming to DVD. It is an interesting and stylish brew, much as if Tennessee Williams was channeled by David Lynch as told to Woodward & Bernstein. The story revolves around Cray Fowler, a young ne'er-do-well scion of old south wealth, played by James Spader, attempting to unravel a family mystery about his father's suicide, the submerged dealings of the past that built the family fortune, and the present day intrigues of his family and his uncle's drive to have Cray Fowler elected a state senator.
Behind all this is a wonderful cast of characters and a standout performance by Joanne Whalley as a district attorney and former live in lover of Spader's character. Whalley does a fantastic, sensuous southern accent,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): James Spader - Joanne Whalley Director(s): Mark Frost DVD Release Date: Released the 14 October 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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This movie was fun to watch and very witty. James Spader delivers a terrific performance as usual and Leslie Stefanson also does a fantastic job. The remainder of the cast is funny and slightly strange, which also makes this movie enjoyable.
The film is basically about a bank robbery that is thought to have been committed by Det. John Parker (Spader). As the film progresses, however, the audience is led to wonder whether he was really the one who did the crime. Aided by his love interest, Natalie Wright (Stefanson), he seeks to prove that he is not the thief. After some fun twists and turns in the plot, there is eventually a happy and satisfying conclusion to this fast-paced story.
If you are looking for a film that is fun, witty and thrilling, then I highly recommend that you check... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Rowdy Herrington DVD Release Date: Released the 16 December 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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