Now, don't get me wrong, there were many things I enjoyed about this movie, and I think all 3 of the main actors did very well. The thing I was not FEELING was the chemistry between Marlena and Jacob. I know I am likely to get ripped apart by all the die-hards on this board, but for a movie that was hyped as a story of "star-crossed romance", I did not feel that kind of love between them. Did anyone else feel the same way?
shareMy only problem with the film is the way older-Jacob is telling it. I cried over the book partially because of his treatment in the nursing home and I wish they would've included that in the movie, not just in dialogue.
I felt the book had a message about some mistreatment in nursing homes, that a great man like Jacob, who lived a long exciting life and had, well, an ADVENTURE, could be stuffed in a nursing home where his kids hardly see him, and he's barely treated as human.
Aside from that, I had no real complaints. The image i had for Marlena was fairly close to the film, and I was wary about Robert playing Jacob, but he did a way better job than I expected, and I was happy he did justice to film version of a book I love so much.
"I think it was like Jacob said 'whether you love me or not'. It was just the beginning, I don't think they were madly in love right away, but they cared for each other and Jacob wanted to save her from an abusive life. My brothers liked the film very much and they didn't think it was really a love story as much as it was about coming of age and friendship."
Ego, I too agree with you and I`m surprised at the comments on this board. I felt there was chemistry between Robert and Reese and I felt Robert did an excellent job in this show. I loved the whole feel of the show and enjoyed it tremendously. This is my type of show and I felt it was well played. It reminded me of The Notebook because of the flashback storytelling, like James Garner did. I`m disappointed on the comments made though, and very surprised.
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I have to agree with the OP. There was just no chemistry. It was a bland, almost cold performance - which is weird because I thought the three of them did well within their roles.
@ravmeltt: I also didn't like The Notebook - maybe these are just not my kind of movies!
Maybe they're not Summer. Because I really didn't find their performance bland. I loved Jacob and I found Christoph Walz did an excellent job as August. To me, Reese wasn't too bad either. I loved, loved the Notebook. My kind of movie. LOL
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I have to agree pretty much 100% with the OP. All the performances were solid; however their did seem to be a lack of genuine on screen chemistry between Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon, but I guess that is something that either happens or doesn't and is a casting issue. The most compelling on screen presence was Christoph Waltz, whom as with "Ingenious Basterds" stole the show. And I could have really done without the film being bookended by the present day scenes with Jacob as an old man telling the story.... way too cheesey.
shareI don't know why people are complaining of lack of chemistry between Pattinson and Reese. I find they had incredible chemistry. I do agree with you that Christoph Waltz stole the show and of course he was great in Inglorious Basterds.
"And I could have really done without the film being bookended by the present day scenes with Jacob as an old man telling the story.... way too cheesey."
I disagree with your above comment. I think this show borrowed from The Notebook, which is one of my favorite shows, and I found the book-ended scenes brought clarity to the story at the beginning and closure at the end, which is a good thing.
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That's interesting, ravmeltt, about you finding they had incredible chemistry, I just didn't feel it. Of course in the end it all comes down to personal taste of the individual viewer. I will say however that Robert Pattinson does have something of the screen idol presense in this film that actors from the 1940's 50's had. I have not seen "The Notebook" but having just read the cast list it looks like something that I would like to see.
shareYes Harry, you do have company in that other people felt as you, about the non-chemistry thing, but personally I didn't see the lack. It was fine to me. Yes Robert Pattinson does have something. It is there and I really enjoyed him in this role. There's another movie he was in recently, 'Remember Me', which I want to see. I don't think it got great reviews, but I still want to see it. You should see 'The Notebook'. It does have the 'bookend' scenes and lots of flashbacks, but I think it was a beautiful movie. James Garner was in it as the 'book-ender'. Loved it. I think I'm going to watch it again.
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"Remember Me" is an excellent and moving film and Robert Pattinson is brilliant in it. Emilie Da Ravin from "Lost" is the female lead and they have real on screen chemistry. As for reviews, well they never stop me from seeing a film I think looks good. If an actor I like is in something then I will watch it and make up my own mind about whether it's any good or not; I get the feeling your probably the same:-)
shareHarry, you got me. I am like that. I make up my own mind and watch a movie I want to see, regardless of the reviews. I can't think of any right now, but I know there have been movies where I heard bad reviews and still watched them, and loved them. My taste is my own. I enjoyed Red Riding Hood with Amanda Seyfried, even though people on the IMDB board pummeled it (and me) for liking it. I enjoyed Coyboys and Aliens. Loved Water for Elephants as you can see, and I plan to watch Remember Me as soon as I get a chance. I hated Something About Mary whereas some people loved it. So again, I make up my own mind and watch what I want to. We are alike. Glad to see someone who thinks like me in this regard.
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Hey ravmeltt, that's cool. I'm forever watching films and thinking "that was brilliant" and then going onto the message board and seeing that apparently it's the worst film ever made. I try and view a film for what it is, not for what it isn't; However I can still be very critical but try to be fair and objective.
As for "Remember Me" well I almost turned it off because 3/4 way through because I just couldn't see the point of the film; however I stuck with it and the pay off at the end put everything that has gone before in context and perspective. I hope you get around to watching it.
P.s. I hated "Red Riding Hood":-)
P.s. I hated "Red Riding Hood":-)
Awww. LOL. Somehow I knew you were going to say that. :(
I don't know why people hated it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. But then I'm kinda weird like that. :)
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HaHa... Yeah well I really like Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman who are always really good in everything they're in, but I just couldn't get caught up in this story. A far better film is "The Crucible" starring Daniel Day Lewis and Winona Ryder.
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I've seen the Crucible, but it was so long ago that I can't really remember it. Maybe if I come across it again I'll re-watch it. I do like Gary Oldman. For some reason I always think of Harvey Keitel when I think of him. LOL
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Ah yes Harvey Keitel another actor who is always good on screen. Good talking to you Ravmeltt; P.S. I checked out your reviews page, interesting stuff, keep it up! Take care, H
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AQ, you and I seem to be the few that liked the movie and the chemistry. I think sometimes, when some people are acquainted with an actor, they look at the movie with those eyes. They need to watch the story for what it's worth, instead of thinking, "oh, this is Reese Witherspoon from Home to Alabama" or whatever. "Wow, she's not acting like she was in that show. Oh, she's terrible in this", or "Wow, Robert is looking just like he does in Twilight, and I hated Twilight. Gosh, he's acting terribly."
I think that's what goes on, but when I'm watching a movie, I try to forget all that and follow the story line and enjoy the movie for what it's worth. If I don't like the movie, it's usually for other reasons, not because I think someone else could have acted in it better. I wish people would grow up and stop being so nitpicking. Sometimes I really feel to stop reading these posts, but then I'm drawn back to see others' opinions, to my utter chagrin. LOL
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Yeah I felt the same way. I loved the movie but it felt like it was missing a little extra something. The chemistry between Reese and Rob was stale and went nowhere. I don't say this in bias, but Robert was great. I guess getting him out of the sparkly make-up and giving him a meaty role was a good idea. Ive always believed him to be a very talented actor who just needed the right role, and this was definitely the right role for him. Reese, on the other hand, didn't work for me. She seemed very miscast, and thats an understatement. Marlena is emotionally and mentally abused, has nowhere to go, has no family, and has been alienated from everyone but her abusive and unstable husband. She lives in the constant fear that her husband could snap any moment. The role needed a gritty, hardcore, believable performance. Reese seemed too interested in looking pretty or standing there with a pouty look on her face. She just didn't FIT this part. Ive read the book and I just didn't get her as Marlena at all. If they had someone else like Jennifer Lawrence, someone who has proven that she can pull off a gritty role, then WFE probably would have been better.
I am Jack's broken heart
I guess I don't understand why everyone is expecting there to be such dazzling chemistry between Jacob and Marlena. I've read the book and to me it seems that he fell in love with her against his better judgment and she made the logical choice. Anyone can see that in that day and age, when women in general had very little "choice", she saw very clearly that if she stayed with August, that either she would die or he would. She liked Jacob, slept with him, began to care for him, and realized he was her way out. I know this may sound cynical, but this story isn't set in 2011, it's set in the 30s, during the depression. People and times were different then. Chemistry played a lesser part in a romantic relationship than necessity. At least, this story tells me that.
According to the book, their love grew after they got married. At least, Jacob's love for Marlena did. We still don't know if Marlena truly loved Jacob. From the book, I get the impression that she had really strong feelings for August. A women can love two men, ya know.
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"Fear not for the future; weep not for the past." -- Percy Bysshe Shelley
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This is pretty much how I interpreted it.
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I am Jack's broken heart
I agree. I find it amusing to see people complaining about the lack of chemistry in the movie, because it's a notch up from the book. Don't blame the actors or the script, you don't have to go any further than the source material.
shareI agree totally. No attraction felt between the two main characters at all, whatsoever!
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LOL.....just watched this on cable and I was thinking of the poor people who actually paid for a ticket to see this mess. I kinda pictured when all the animals were let loose it was the audience that fled. I did like Jacob, but Witherspoon was a total miscast with 0 chemistry with anything. I cringed when Rosie was beaten though. Overall, a complete waste of $4.99 and 2 hours of my time. Bright spot - I have now discovered Robert Pattison!
sharenah I wasn't feelin' it either. When they finally ended up together I was kind of like...so? No great feelingg of 'yaaaaaay' or triumph. I almost wondered if she wanted to go with him just as an 'out' from an abusive relationship.
Basically this movie was entertaining to me only b/c of August. I was glad he was in practically every scene. I'm not a diehard fan of Waltz or anything...just, I just found him very entertaining in this movie.
And I'm sorry, August was a little right. *gasp* No I mean...clearly he was abusive and she shouldn't have been with him, etc. But he was right when he alluded to "the leading lady out of his reach, who keeps teasing him [the awkward young man]"...before August said it, that's all I was getting too. She did seem to be kind of a tease...she was the instigator, almost getting Jacob killed b/c she kept flirting with him, leading him on.
I don't know what the solution was, b/c she was stuck in an abusive relationship after all.
But my point is, I suppose. I didn't feel the love. She seemed to see an 'out' with Jacob and sorta went for it.
[I have not read the book. This is purely how it 'read' to me just from watching the movie.]
Ya know, if she was just looking for an out, she made a pretty bad choice. She chose a guy who was broke, didn't get his degree, his whole family was dead, and he was homeless. Yeah, that's who'd I choose to get me out of a bad situation. Especially when I was the star of the circus and could probably have found a rich business man who wanted a pretty girlfriend/wife.
Much better to chose the broke homeless guy with little prospects. And have six kids with him and stay married until she died. It couldn't have been true love or anything like that.
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Wait so...your last line was sarcastic right, which means you think it was true love? I just didn't see it like that. You're right that he was young and homeless. But he wasn't this controlling, abusive SOB like August was. He was nice, uncomplicated, adored her, was willing to help her escape from her prison. Plus he made her feel good about herself, that she'd still be worth something even without the circus. So she took it. That's how it came across to me. Plus a little bonding over "yay, let's be merciful and kind to animals." I'll give them that.
shareWFE seems to be doing very well in DVD sales and rentals, so either it's repeat viewings from the audience that made it the #1 Adult Drama when it was in theaters or it's finding a new audience.
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WFE received 3 nominations for Satellite Awards:
Best Art Direction:
Anonymous
The Artist
Faust
Hugo
Mysteries of Lisbon
Water For Elephants
Best Costume Design:
Mysteries of Lisbon
The Artist
Anonymous
Faust
Jane Eyre
Water For Elephants
Best Original Score:
Soul Surfer
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
Super 8
Drive
Water For Elephants
War Horse
The Satellite Awards are given out by the International Press Association. IPA is a global media association of domestic and foreign entertainment journalists in print, TV, radio, broadcast, and online outlets; including critics, interviewers, reviewers, bloggers, and photographers.
List of all nominees:
http://www.pressacademy.com/award_cat/current-nominees/
Awards ceremony is Sunday, Dec. 18th.
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Much better to chose the broke homeless guy with little prospects. And have six kids with him and stay married until she died. It couldn't have been true love or anything like that.
Cullenista, I love your sarcasm and agree with you totally. Some posters are saying that it wasn't love, but that she married him, had six kids, and stayed with him til she died? I'd call that true love. I wish others would get it.
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I agree. I thought it was an excellent movie. And I love Reese Witherspoon and I just thought she was beautiful in it ( a little thin, maybe) and Robert Pattinson definitely won me over as Jacob, more so than when he was Edward, but yes, there was just something that was not as "magical" as the book. I can't put my finger quite on it, but yes.
shareI am of the same opinion as the OP. However, I'm biased against both Pattinson and Witherspoon, so that may be why I found the romance scenes unappealing.
I thought they had more chemistry during that one minute when August forced them to "fake" intimacy for his own sadistic pleasure/vindictiveness than all of their other interactions combined. Maybe he should have directed the film? :/
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I LOVED the movie, but I agree there was a lacking in the chemistry department. I thought Robert did a great job in pining for Marlena but Reese seemed distant and calculated in her movements. I could just feel the fakeness and that sucks when you want to be immersed into their story.
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