athanasiosze

I watched it around 15-20 years ago, i remember that i liked it and my IMDB rating was 7/10. I revisited it a few days ago and it was so much better than my initial rating. Maybe it takes a life beating or two, in order to appreciate it more, maybe when you're young and fearless, it's more difficult to understand those characters, even though these characters are young too, in their 20's.

In any case, this is a great movie. First of all, i would have loved it just for Spader and MacDowell. Their acting performances here are phenomenal, this is peak level for both of them. The other two did a good job too, truth be told though, their job was much easier because their characters are not that multilayered. Spader's and MacDowell's characters are so well written, these are characters with "flesh and blood", so much depth, therefore their job was not easy. But on the other hand, writing hepled them in order to perform like this.

I won't reveal much about this movie, either way, if you haven't watched it yet, it's better to go in blind. Don't read anything relevant, let it be a journey. Slow to start, but as it progresses, it gets much more interesting and intense. Characters showed their true colors and i carried away. Still, there are many things untold, and it was hard for me to decipher some of them. But this has nothing to do with a frustrating "open for interpretation" movie : Truth is in front of you, you just have to find it out.

I would like to say also that this has nothing to do with comedy. There is nothing funny here. It's not a heavy drama, director chose to lighten up a bit, but still, it is a drama/romance movie. And a great one. Loneliness, despair, miscommunication, greed, self punishment, lust and depression. If there was salvation in the end or not, you have to watch it and decide for yourself.

Quoting from a reviewer here (Cheetah-6) : "This friendship may be unusual but feels completely natural and true".

This is a perfect description for this movie. This is not a realistic love triangle, things in life don't happen as they happen here. Yet, it feels so realistic and true. It's like characters here communicate with each other without hiding anything. This movie is like inner monologues are coming on the surface and people being absolutely honest with each other, without feeling the need to censor their true selves. Characters don't feel real because they are too real, and these characters look more like symbols whereas they remain as human as it can get.

I hope that these words make sense despite being contradictory with each other.

In any case, everything makes sense in this movie, even though the characters themselves being that strange, inconsistent, greedy, courageous and everything else that makes us humans so complex beings. I can empathize with every character here and i see the reasons why this is considered as a masterpiece by many moviegoers and almost every movie critique.

However, i can't rate it higher. I think the first 20-30 minutes were kinda boring. Then, it gets interesting but still, i can't give a 9 or a 10. These characters are multilayered but i don't like them. Moreau's character is absolutely hideous. Jules is so passive and spineless, and Jim is more normal but still, he irritates me.

I know it's maybe dumb judging a movie depending on your liking for the characters. And i have given high ratings for movies which had much worse characters. But they had "character", they had something distinctive. Whereas, those three are just whiny children who don't know what they want and act like their acts have no consequences. Maybe this is exactly the beauty of this film, considering it was made 60plus years ago, therefore, it was revolutionary. I respect it and i get it but that doesn't mean i am gonna love it, too.

I haven't watched the original French movie. I watched this one again recently, to see if it stands the test of time. It's not a great comedy but i still liked it. Kinda slow to start but as it progresses, it gets gradually better and the last 30-40 minutes were the best part of it. There are many funny scenes but i wouldn't call it hilarious. Actors did a very good job and one of the best aspects of this movie is the characters. Characters are adorable, not just likeable, especially Nathan Lane's character. Overall, this is sweet and funny and its heart is in the right place. It's somewhat touching, and the ending is amazing.