Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet (B+) features a Floridian gang war set to iambic pentameter and a soliloquy submerged in the deep end of a swimming pool. It’s a tropical-infused, altogether modern take, set in America with young stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes doing superb work as the central tragic lovers. The director has a strange way of distancing viewers from his concept for the first 30 minutes or so before the film settles into a beautiful rhythm. By the time a chorus is singing “When Doves Cry,” most are won over. The movie dazzles and moves and rarely misses a beat of what the Bard intended.
Tag Archives: Romance
“The Mirror Has Two Faces” is Enjoyable Streisand Romance
Barbra Streisand stars and takes the director’s chair for The Mirror Has Two Faces (A-), a superb romantic comedy about the modern myths of beauty and relationships. Paired with Jeff Bridges as dating professors, it’s an intellectual look at the modern rituals of romance. Lauren Bacall is a hoot as Streisand’s character’s sassy mom. The two Streisands – actress and director – score a triumph with comedy and drama in this story about a couple courting chaos and confusion.
Show Me the Emotion! “Jerry Maguire” is a Knockout
The man who played America’s top gun, a cocky race car driver, an acrobatic bartender, a brooding vampire and a covert operator is now on the sidelines as Tom Cruise plays the agent behind the sports superstars. Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire (A) is about a man who comes down to earth and discovers what truly matters when he finds romance, discovers a sort of surrogate parenthood and finds a client who can count on him regardless of his prestige. To paraphrase a famous line, the film “had me at hello” with superb performing performances by Renee Zellweger and Cuba Gooding Jr. as the agent’s loyalists. Crowe uses lovely pop music including Bruce Springsteen’s “Secret Garden” to trace the emotional and romantic journey. Cruise has never been better and gives one of his most restrained and generous performances.
Ang Lee’s “Sense and Sensibility” a Deft Comedy of Manners
Emma Thompson aptly adapts Jane Austin in her screenwriting debut for Ang Lee’s splendid comedy of manners Sense and Sensibility (A). Co-starring the luminous Kate Winslet and Hugh Grant, Thompson the actress and writer unleashes tart exchanges as gossipy socialites, sycophants, snobs and civil servants find their way in a period piece about discovering love and happiness.
Mike Figgis Directed “Leaving Las Vegas” is an Unsentimental Romantic Masterpiece
Meet Ben and tonic as director Mike Figgis addresses an addicted man and the woman who helps redeem him in the outstanding drama Leaving Las Vegas (A+). Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue give career-best performances as the alcoholic and prostitute who enter each other’s lives when they both most need the reflection and support of a fellow human being in their darkest time. Handheld camerawork, vivid colors and the absolute conviction of dialogue and fine acting make this alternately sad and romantic piece work beautifully.
Rob Reiner’s “The American President” is Brilliant Comic Romance
Politics make strange bedfellows in Rob Reiner’s The American President (A) which tells a charming tale of a widowed president (Michael Douglas) who falls in love with a political operative (Annette Bening). The leads are remarkable and sink their teeth into Aaron Sorkin’s snappy screenplay. This in a rare romantic comedy that gets a very high approval rating.
“Bridges of Madison County” Movie Features Wonderful Performances
Director Clint Eastwood’s The Bridges of Madison County (A) is a sensitive portrait of middle-aged romance, brought to sumptuous life by a sensitive artist. Who would have guessed a sketchy story about a lonely housewife who has an affair with a drifter over a long weekend would be a catalyst for Eastwood as both director and actor to communicate volumes? His muse – Meryl Streep – in great accent and with blissful vulnerability as Francesca, must make tough choices to either be faithful to her family or to live out her every repressed fantasy and escape from all that she knows. The film’s leisurely pace, gorgeously photographed American heartland and mature themes of personal responsibility help both characters and viewers to cross literal and figurative cross-ways into new emotional depths. It’s fun to get caught up in the whirlwind of the Robert-Francesca romance and really tough to come back to reality. It’s a profound film of memories and choices made that will impact the rest of your life.
“Before Sunrise” a Revelatory Glimpse at Young Love, Gen X Style
Midway through Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise (A+), a character asks, “Isn’t everything we’re doing in life a way to be loved a little more?” Leading to discussions, revelations, and lingering meditations, this question is but one thread in a tapestry of character study. Sunrise is a celebration of human language that reveals more about its loquacious characters than any film targeted to twentysomethings in recent memory. An American man (Ethan Hawke) and French woman (Julie Delpy) meet on a European train and spend a night walking and talking through Vienna. Through debate, Q&A sessions with imaginary friends, frisky flirting and more, the two reveal more in a night than many do in a lifetime. The film is a funny, romantic and thoughtful ode to discovering your soulmate and then learning to communicate with them.
“Legends of the Fall” a Lush Drama
Anchored by solid performances by Brad Pitt and others and filled with gorgeous scenery, Edward Zwick’s Legends of the Fall (B+) is a romantic ode to family and friendship in the early 20th century. Set in the shadows of the Montana Rockies, the film tells the story of three brothers (Pitt, Aidan Quinn, Henry Thomas) a stern father (Anthony Hopkins), a love interest (Julia Ormond) and a world on the brink of love and war. Prodigal son themes and some less successful WWI sequences are all eclipsed by the force of nature that is the central smoldering romances and breathtaking photography told to the score of James Horner. It’s a poetic, intoxicating story about living and learning and taking the journey.
“Love Affair” (1994) is a Lifeless Remake
Glenn Gordon Caron’s Love Affair (D-) is a remake of An Affair to Remember which inspired the much more interesting homage Sleepless in Seattle. Warren Beatty and Annette Bening are smarmy in the soft-lit central roles, and Katharine Hepburn makes a cameo to mumble something unnecessarily vulgar. By the time the lovers meet up at the Empire State Building, you’re just glad it’s almost time for the credits to roll.
“Sleepless in Seattle” a Good Old-Fashioned Romance
Writer/director Nora Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle (B+) is a hopelessly romantic look at how destiny shapes the loves of our lives. It’s quite an experiment to have your leads spend most of the film’s running time considering a fateful cross-country meet-up; and after lots of charming conversations, cajoling by friends and nostalgic soundtrack tunes, the “moment” is put into motion. Even with limited screen time together, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are irresistible in this charming mix of poignancy and laughs.
Gere and Foster Make the Most of “Sommersby”
Jon Amiel’s Sommersby (B) is a soapy, post-Civil War-era retelling of the French film Return of Martin Guerre about a war hero (Richard Gere) who returns to his southern home and to his wife (Jodie Foster) and son — but the returning hero may actually be an imposter. But could the guy who returned actually be an improvement over the hubby from before? The script is a bit overwrought and many twists far-fetched, but the actors give it their all, and the production values are strong. Danny Elfman provides a rare and effective romantic score. It’s pretty likely you’ll be hooked to the central couple’s story and on the edge of your seat about how it turns out.