(2008)
As rubbish as he was in Body of Lies, DiCaprio excels here (he should stick to melodrama and not try to duke it out with the big boys in action). More so than Winslet, probably because she's so consistent these days that it's difficult to be blown away by her performances).
It's the first film Sam Mendes has tackled where you feel actual depth, rather than being left with the impression of good actors draped over material designed to superficially dazzle but not really stay with you. On the one hand it recalls the perfectly transported milieu of Far From Heaven, on the other the Burton/Taylor marital disintegration of Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? And, like the latter, there are moments during the marital spats where the dialogue feels a little contrived in order to keep the characters on the necessary trajectory and to cover the desired bases.
Strong support from Dylan Baker as DiCaprio's work buddy and particularly Michael Shannon as the neighbour's nephew who has undergone shock treatment and tells it like it is. Nuts that something as mediocre as Frost/Nixon was getting a Best Picture nod and this was completely ignored.
Strong support from Dylan Baker as DiCaprio's work buddy and particularly Michael Shannon as the neighbour's nephew who has undergone shock treatment and tells it like it is. Nuts that something as mediocre as Frost/Nixon was getting a Best Picture nod and this was completely ignored.
****
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