Mike Leigh

There was apparently some controversy because Hawkins won a Golden Globe, but wasn't even nominated for an Oscar. Perhaps it is because for the first half of the film her character is so ultra-annoying that it makes you cringe and contemplate closing your browser window. By the end, she settles down and shows a lot of depth. But the most memorable performances come from Karina Fernandez as the intense dance instructor and--above all--from Eddie Marsan as an insecure, racist, and increasingly show more angry driving instructor. He steals every scene he is in, and while we can't condone his racism, his annoyance with Hawkins' character is often understandable. Overall, this is better than so-so, but not great. There are some nice small bits by actors playing the types of people we have come to know--although these are the British versions of those folks. show less

The production deserved its Oscars for costume, design, and make-up, and it was interesting to see how Gilbert was inspired by a Japanese Exhibition to write a libretto that convinced Sullivan to not follow through on his plan to terminate their partnership.

BUT: the script could have used some more work.
It's hard to ruin G&S completely, but the dialogue was slow, the character relationships murky, and the director was so intent on revealing the seamy side of the Victorian Theatre milieu that show more he made it unsuitable for younger fans.

And (of course) I would have made a few changes in his presentation of some of the dramatic elements.

However, if you are an adult unfazed by full-frontal-nudity (a brief and totally unnecessary scene) and want to know what life was like behind the curtains, then it is an interesting couple of hours' entertainment.

Most of us would do better to just watch some of the G&S operettas. show less

A happy couple have a desperately lonely friend.

Realistic characters having interesting conversations - this is what I like. And I haven't seen it done anywhere close to this well since I saw 12 Angry Men. This is the rare sort of movie that reminds me why I love movies as much as I do.

Concept: C
Story: A
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: A
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: A
Music: A

Enjoyment: A

GPA: 3.6/4

A relentlessly cheerful school teacher takes driving lessons from an angry man.

Very well-written. The main characters are extremes to an almost ridiculous degree, but are still completely real. They're the sort of characters that you might often see in real life, but wouldn't normally accept in a movie because they're too perfectly suited to be Entertaining Movie Characters, and because most writers wouldn't know how to make them more than a bundle of quirks.

Concept: C
Story: B
Characters: show more A
Dialog: A
Pacing: B
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: C
Acting: A
Music: B

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 3.1/4 show less