nuts4chic - film review
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| Julia Roberts |
Michael Taylor is a famous writer who hides his insecurity behind his success. Michael is in fact the psychologically abused son of academic teacher Charlie Taylor, violent and sadistic, and sweet Lisa.
On the day of a big family reunion, Lisa dies in an accident caused by Christopher, the son of Lisa’s younger sister Jane. Michael takes care of him, as all the members of the Taylor family try to come to terms with their past, their regrets and grudges. Everyone has a secret to hide, even Lisa had one. But whatever may be said or remain unsaid, what really counts is learning how to forgive and to love.
This delicate melodrama has a number of effective sequences and is served by a star-studded cast that give astonishing performances. Willem Dafoe’s presence on screen is unbearable and is only soothed by Julia Roberts’ everlasting charm, while Ryan Reynolds keeps all grief and rage compressed, oozing from his fiery eyes.
Director Dennis Lee has written and helmed his first film (a semi-autobiographical story) with a sure hand; unfortunately, the last part the film becomes cheesier and cheesier, and at the same time the general canopy of sweetness spread on the characters becomes less and less credible. Michael’s importance as an educator (albeit only for the duration of his trip home) for Jane’s children is sincerely touching, especially if compared to the frequent flashbacks showing Michael as a boy being taunted by his father.
When the flashbacks occur, the photography switches from a high definition, bright palette to a grainy, sombre one. The soundtrack itself changes style and atmosphere, but always reflects the characters’ feelings with precision. Now this is usually considered a good quality in a film, and being the director an absolute beginner, it could be said that he was particularly attentive and caring towards his creatures, the members of the Taylor family.
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However, at the end of the film you feel like this trip into their hearts has been a bit tiring; and the formal accuracy builds up an emotional overload on psychological elements that would have been better just hinted at.
As for the all-forgiving message that comes in the end, I might be cynical but – I didn’t buy it. More than an adult and responsible take on the theme of love and mercy, it feels like a goody-goody way to finish the film and send all the characters away with the director’s blessing. Hopefully Lee will choose a more detached subject for his next work, in order to be less entangled in the net of sentimentality.
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