Film Reviews by PC

Silly me. Although Yves Montand made English language films, I didn't realise this is in French! Sorry. I'm sure it's a great film, but returned unwatched.

After seeing the film previews, I was expecting a comedic drama. In reality it is anything but. It portrays a very dystopian, other-worldly view of early 18th century court life, centred around Queen Ann, Sarah the 1st Duchess of Malborough and Abigail Hill, the latter's cousin. If this film did nothing, it did make me reach for the history books. Whether, in reality, court life was this warped and whether there was a lesbian relationship between Queen Ann and the other two women is unclear from what I have read. What is fact is that Sarah lived to the grand old age of 82 and become one of the most powerful and wealthy women during the reign of George I (Queen Ann's succcessor). No mention of Queen Ann's husband, Princde George of Denmark, who died in 1708, so I assume the film was set after this time. As for the fim itself, the acting is superb and I can understand why the film got the gongs it did. However, the dialogue was delivered in such a quick and matter-of-fact way, I found it did help to have the sub-titles turned ON! The frequent use of wide-angle photography and the one-bar jarriing "music" added to the sense of surrealism. Would I watch it again? - yes, if only to catch some of the dialogue I missed!

Glenn Close is rarely in a bad movie and gives a touch of gravitas to every role she plays. The Wife is one of only two films from this years Oscars which I wanted to see. Superb acting throughout with great support from Jonathan Pryce. It is slow burning, so if you like action fims this may not be to your liking. I could have done without the elderly sex scene in the first minute of the film, but a suppose it underlined the lengths to which Glenn Close's character was willing to accommodate her husband - a vane self-absorbed man. I will not say any more as I do not want to give anything away. Recommended.

The film starts with the impending Flight 1549 NTSB investigation 5 months after the accident, which I was not expecting. I initially thought this referred to a previous incident involving the pilots. So, I found the first few minutes a bit confusing, but once I realised what was happening I got into the film and overall found it entertaining enough. I suppose there wasn't much to the story apart from that miraculous landing in the Hudson, which was shown twice, both in real time and at the subsequent hearing, so I suppose Clint Eastwood had to introduce another element to the story to fill up the time. However, I thought everything was brought together well at the end and I felt satisfied and that all boxes had been ticked. I thought Tom Hanks did a decent acting job and looked uncanilly like the real Sullenberger and portrayed his slightly shy demeanor very well. Overall a film worth watching.