December 7, 2024

"Lee" (Kenneth Branagh) and wife "Robin" (Judy Davis) have been coasting along for quite a while when he suddenly declares to her that he wants a divorce. He's a writer largely reduced to churning out travelogues who has had his head banged against the wall following a high school reunion that made him realise that mundanity is set fair unless he does something about it. She doesn't take that so well, and seeks solace in a retreat that might be p… read the rest.

"Lee" (Kenneth Branagh) and wife "Robin" (Judy Davis) have been coasting along for quite a while when he suddenly declares to her that he wants a divorce. He's a writer largely reduced to churning out travelogues who has had his head banged against the wall following a high school reunion that made him realise that mundanity is set fair unless he does something about it. She doesn't take that so well, and seeks solace in a retreat that might be part of their problem. He feels that her strong Catholic religion has repressed their sex life and that, in turn, has impacted upon his literal creative juices. He certainly reckons that his new love "Bonnie" (Famke Janssen), herself a story editor, might be able to stimulate that. Meantime, "Robin" lands on her feet and is soon working with television executive "Tony" (Joe Mantegna) who offers her an whole new range of opportunities and as these two people begin to live independent lives, one begins to relish it and the other, well maybe less so. Is it a case of grass being greener or being careful what you wish for? It's an adequate drama this one that illustrates well the pulling power of Woody Allen in assembling a fairly stellar cast, but the episodic style of the storytelling is miss more than hit for me, and with the underpinning marital drama barely registering on the interesting scale, it really falls to one lively and authentic looking scene with Leonardo DiCaprio as the over-indulged film star having a mega-strop with his girlfriend and threatening to trash the hotel to bring the film to a brief form of life. It's too long, at times repetitive, and extremely verbose as the characters never seem capable of shutting up long enough to listen to what has already been said, let alone absorb or implement it's messages. Monochrome helps it's look, as does the classic sounding score, but as an opportunity to satirise the whole business of celebrity and the fickleness of fame, it rather disappoints.

show less