The story was pretty much exactly as expected, based on the trailers we had seen for many weeks. Normally, I would say this is disappointing, but it was not. It was simply satisfactory. Which, on a report card, or any evaluation, sounds just like; “meets expectations.” That’s not a stellar review.
For my time, the most satisfying bit from this movie came from one quote, which I’m sure I don’t have exactly verbatim. But, it was something like; “All those blank pages, they’re for you to fill.” This is said to the main character by a Jewish boy (who is being hidden from the Nazis), as he hands her a book of pages made empty by painting over them with white paint. She, being someone who has recently learned to read and write, would, of course, treasure this simple gift.
Given that the plot was so incredibly predictable, there’s little to rave about when discussing this film. Like I said, it was merely satisfying. A good cast, plausible characters, and a nice story, narrated by Death. See it if you can spare the time and don’t mind a couple of hours with little excitement. Had I been just a bit more tired, I might have gotten in a nap.
On the other hand, we did see Sling Blade (for like the 12th time) – and that is nearly a perfect movie. It has almost nothing exciting in it, but the dialog and the characters are so compelling. This is all I need to make a movie memorable and worth multiple views.
If it were not so late, I might make a short list of movies I’ll see over and over again.
OK, here are a few:
- Sling Blade
- Pulp Fiction
- Blade Runner
- Safety Not Guaranteed
- Source Code
- Moonrise Kingdom