I think the script was the problem not the acting, although I was not moved by any of the actors.
A melodrama, nothing more.
I agree. The script was full of cliches and thus melodramatic. Marion Cotillard did a good job with what she had, as did Phoenix and Renner. What bothered me was Ewa (Cotillard) was supposed to be this woman of ill repute, but I never felt that way about her character. She came across as fearful and innocent. And later on when she confesses to the priest about all the sins she has committed, it was hard to buy.
I think the film would have been better if the filmmakers had shown Ewa with more men instead of just relegating it to the rich young son and the cop (where nothing much is shown anyway). Instead, we constantly see Ewa in a state of fear, like a deer in the headlights--she doesn't become hardened like someone in her position would likely be.
Also, it was difficult to know how much time had passed since Ewa arrived in NY. I was confused about the timeline.
I wouldn't really recommend this film, but I did like watching the three principal actors. I just wish they had had a better screenplay to work with.
And all the pieces matter (The Wire)
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franzkabuki
10 years ago
"Ewa was supposed to be of ill repute".
Only because on the ship, she was raped by a couple of guys - and this was later twisted into a narrative where she had "low morals". Also, while she wasn't some hardened harpy, she was hardly that weak and fearful by the film's end, either - to me she came across as rather resilient under her fragile features.
"I was confused about the timeline".
In the beginning, it was said Ewa's sister was to be detained in the asylum for six months and in the end, she was still there, so it must have taken place in less than six months.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
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whiskeyTango-06
10 years ago
In his address to the 1988 Republican National Convention, Ronald Reagan introduced a section of his speech with the words:
"Before we came to Washington, Americans had just suffered the two worst back-to-back years of inflation in 60 years. Those are the facts, and as John Adams said, ‘Facts are stubborn things.’"
This paragraph, and the following four paragraphs, finished with Adams’s words. However, at the end of the third paragraph, Reagan made a verbal slip, which he immediately corrected. A transcript of the speech reads,
"Facts are stupid things – stubborn things, should I say. [Laughter]."
However, despite its origin as a slip of the tongue, "Facts are stupid things" has taken on a life of its own in the world of quotations by those ignorant of... the facts.
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