MovieChat Forums > Youth (2015) Discussion > Beautifully Shot, Horribly Written

Beautifully Shot, Horribly Written

posted 9 years ago by devinpmurphy
29 replies | jump to latest

From the opening shot through the end credits this movie was masterfully shot.

The writing, however, is some of the most contrived, trite drivel I've seen on screen in a year. Dialogue was just so dorced forced like that of a first year college playwright. Even some heavyweights couldn't save it. Caine will always be fun to watch, but you can see Keitel tripping in the inauthenticity of the banter.

I'm fact the whole movie just seemed so inauthentic. From the "I can't remember my parents" lines to the hamfisted thrusting of "important" lines, to the whole Hitler subsection, it was like Paolo wanted to just make something pretty and meaningful bit forgot that meaning needs authenticity to set stakes.

Really a painful watch. Granted, English isn't Paolo's first language and this should be remembered (though it's hard to forget as the whole script reeks of Google Translate). This move would improve dramatically with all dialogue taken out and the really interesting score played on top. And that's a sad statement for a movie about deep conversations near the end of life.

[–] Sidewindr 9 years ago

I hate to rain on your parade mate, but a lot of the movie rings true about how we age. You do forget how loved ones look and sound and events in the past as they grow more distant, it is a fact of life and age.. one you will have to face up to eventually .. EVERYONE has to.

[–] alice-enland 9 years ago

Since Caine's character had no relationship with this wife or daughter, I imagine he never had one with his parents. So it's not hard to believe he can't remember his parents.

[–] chuck-526 9 years ago

...Caine's character had no relationship with this wife or daughter...

That was the "common wisdom" that was portrayed by Lena's soliloquy and was consistent with some of the other comments in the film ..but it wasn't clear it was actually the whole story.

- One of the stories Fred tells Mick early on is how incredibly much effort he supposedly invested in trying to make things "just right" for Lena as a child.

- He seemingly quite casually explained to the little boy practicing the violin that he wrote his Simple Songs "while he still loved".

- And the story he finally told the Queen's emissary about why nobody else but his wife could sing the Simple Songs but she couldn't sing any more, was so heartfelt it brought Lena to tears.

[–] dbeane 8 years ago

That was the "common wisdom" that was portrayed by Lena's soliloquy and was consistent with some of the other comments in the film ..but it wasn't clear it was actually the whole story.

I agree - there's no reason to assume that Lena (who's never actually accomplished anything on her own) is a reliable narrator in that case. She could just be childish and self-involved; and perhaps thus her husband (or was it fiancee) left her for someone that has a stronger personality and initiative.

For Fred to have written his Simple Songs for his wife to sing, and they obviously meant a great deal to him, would be out-of-step for someone who had "no relationship" with his wife.

[–] imaintdan 9 years ago

I will agree that a few moments hit things on the nose too hard, but overall I found much of the script, from the layout of the narrative to the dialogue, to be very good.

https://zitzelfilm.wordpress.com

[–] willcwhite 9 years ago

I agree absolutely 100% – brilliant direction, atrocious script.

Another big problem, I felt was the incorporation of music into the story. We are told that the Michael Caine character is completely entranced by music, that it is his only means of communication with other people. Where then, is his music? We hear it only at the end (and, in little bits, played by the boy violinist.)

The same thing could be said, to a lesser extent, of the presence of film in the filmmaker's story, though this dealt with in the truly painful scenes of scriptwriting with his assistants.

Overall, for a story about artists, there was a significant lack of art.

For a truly great film about a composer, see Kieslawski's "Les Trois Couleurs: Bleu". For a truly great film about a filmmaker see just about anything by Almodovar.

[–] chuck-526 9 years ago

What completely entranced him was not "his" music but "any" music. The film is in fact full of music ...all kinds of music. The opening shot before we even see the title is a music performance. Those music performances on the rotating stage in the hotel courtyard reappear over and over and over, providing a plausible way to insert large amounts of music into the film. We hear opera, classical, French, solo guitar, folk (the Alphorns), "found" music (the candy wrapper crinkling, the cowbells), etc. etc., even bubblegum (the music video dream sequence). The music credits at the end were the longest I've ever seen.

[–] mcmingus 9 years ago

Thank you for pointing out the many and wonderfully varied musical pieces that laced their way through this!

*Danny's not here, Mrs. Torrance*

[–] davedave11 8 years ago

it was a great mistake that the director and producer did not create some masterpieces of music on the spur of the moment that the fictional character might have written

[–] bastille-852-731547 9 years ago

The writing wasn't horrible, but it was certainly flawed. Other than that, the film was great and I'm glad I saw it.

[–] pimp4u 9 years ago

Drivel was the exact word I was thinking of to describe this movie. There was no point to any of it, nothing of interest about it, and it was nothing more than a total waste of time.

It's as if someone had a job in the editing room and he picked up bits and pieces from the floor and threw them together in no particular order, not caring if they fit together or not. The characters are all unlikeable. That's all I'm going to say about it. I've already wasted too much time on this pile of crap.

[–] bostonfilmfan 9 years ago

My thoughts exactly about the editing! The script is horrible. Another problem is actually ... acting. Yes, the actors are good, but each of them is acting in his own movie. Their styles are differrent and there is absolutely no rapport between them, no feeling of an ensemble. What a mess...

[–] wayneski 9 years ago

"There was no point to any of it"

So...because you cannot find meaning, in any of the scenes, ...it must be pointless.???

Too bad for you...come back in a few decades....

Restrepo (2010) Thank you Hetherington

[–] pimp4u 9 years ago

When your mom was here watching it with me, she got the point. If you know what I mean.

[–] wayneski 9 years ago

You might want to peruse the rest of this board to find more "points". Because riding on the short bus...gets old.

Restrepo (2010) Thank you Hetherington

[–] pimp4u 9 years ago

I would imagine it does. But even a loser troll like you you may get to the long bus some day. You just need to get past the third grade first.

[–] wayneski 9 years ago

I might be trolling, but tread carefully, because I can defend this film, with all its flaws.

You on the other hand? Will be eviserated. It won't even be a challenge.

Restrepo (2010) Thank you Hetherington

[–] OldSamVimes 9 years ago

Drivel was the exact word I was thinking of to describe this movie. There was no point to any of it, nothing of interest about it, and it was nothing more than a total waste of time.

It's as if someone had a job in the editing room and he picked up bits and pieces from the floor and threw them together in no particular order, not caring if they fit together or not. The characters are all unlikeable. That's all I'm going to say about it. I've already wasted too much time on this pile of crap.

Read this, then immediately ordered the movie on blu-ray.

[–] bbethany7-699-48220 9 years ago

Bbethany7 It's an improbable stretch to believe Caine and Keitel as committed artists. Caine might play Abe Lincoln more
plausibly than this composer-conductor who more resembles an SNL skit than a famous musician. The Keitel character is badly drawn by the script, leaving Harvey to stumble, mumble, and use too many of his Actor's Studio ticks to try to sell
this weakly presumed film director. I saw the film in France before it's release in the U,S. and wondered whether it would go to the trash heap of DVDs, movies not worth wide distribution.

[–] bbethany7-699-48220 9 years ago

[–] bosejiu 9 years ago

Exactly my feelings too. Such a shame - excellent form with such a poor content. How could it be so? The Great Beauty was fabulous in my opinion, but he seriously went downhill from there. But then, I never considered Sorrentino up there in the ranks of Bergman or Tarkovsky. And one has to be up there, amongst the heavy-weights, to take on the heavy themes. Recycling candy style couldn't have gone well.