Be beautiful — become beautiful While watching, I experienced the whole spectrum of feelings: there is confusion, and joy, and sadness, and delight.
At the beginning of the film, I asked one question: Why roses? Why are there flowers in the picture at all? What did the creator of the painting mean?
In the end, I realized it was just a metaphor. But to understand its meaning, you need to look at the whole picture without being distracted.
Retelling the plot is pointless, all the most interesting lies in it. Let’s leave the metaphor at the end, so I’ll start with the actors.
Kevin Spacey I knew he won an Oscar for this movie, but honestly, after watching it, I never understood why he got the statuette. It made me look at other nominees that year. Then everything fell into place. But if you evaluate without an Oscar, without awards, he played 10 only at the very end. More precisely, the last minutes are 20-25. It's a delightful game. The whole movie is 7. But very solid, good and strong 7.
Annette Bening. Again, again, at the end it's great. I really felt the pain. It's very hard to convey through the screen, but she did. And so -- 5. With a stretch.
Torah Birch and Wes Bentley Applause! Stop! When I saw the movie, I honestly waited for the two of them. Their storyline is the highlight of this film, without it it would be a normal midlife crisis movie. The game is at a high level, scores are not even necessary here, because there are no numbers that can characterize their game. They live on screen. Excellent.
Mena Suvari. The whole film she was a background, a supporting actor, and the end assumed that she would come out of the shadows, that she would blossom. She came out of the shadows for a few seconds, but quickly disappeared there. Her talent (she certainly has) was unseen, after playing Spacey, Birch and Bentley. It is a pity that I could not open up, although there was a chance.
Chris Cooper A subtle, lonely soul that lurks behind a wall of discipline, cruelty, total control. His performance is Oscar-worthy, I think. Thought... Oscar is not the main thing in this life, the main thing is to play so that the viewer believes. That's what Cooper does.
Among the other characters, I would like to note Allison Janey, who perfectly played detachment, showed that she made a life with her character. Kissing a son and mother would not be so touching if it were not for her.
Oh, I promised I'd understand the metaphor. Rose. A lot of beautiful petals, behind which lies a rather unattractive core. Normal. Here, on the contrary. The characters of the picture are beautiful in their own way. But they hide this beauty under the masks of ordinary. And so each of them begins to open up, to lose their petals, to show us the true essence. Beautiful. Delicious. Clean.
Each of the characters is beautiful, but to show this beauty, you need to be naked (in a figurative sense). So the title of my review is this:
To be beautiful is to be beautiful. Tip: Watch the movie alone. Avoid silly laughs from your neighbor, who is bored, better feel the atmosphere, the spirit of the picture, the author's idea.
My assessment: 9 out of 10
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