The Kreutzer Sonata

This new movie should use another name besides 'The Kreutzer Sonata.' It may be based on the novella by Leo Tolstoy but it is nothing like it. I just read the novella and it was so much more powerful, and emotional. The real Kreutzer Sonata was raw. And it is sad what it has been turned into. The original was real, depicting the true faces of reality. And above all it was used as a tool to spread a philosophy and a message of Tolstoy's which is nowhere to be found in the contemporary defacement of the old classic.

In the original the basic story is about lust, and the problems of the structured institutionalized world we live in. Tolstoy's main points revolve around the idea of marriage and its lost meaning. He also speaks at length about the purpose of sex, of sexual pleasure, and the purpose of life and procreation... ..much of which can not and will not be understood by many.

I really liked this movie. I thought it had a good story, great music, great acting, and was thoroughly enjoyable.

Danny Houston is very good in his role of a many who seduced and married a young women, had two children and now is extremely jealous of his young wife, suspecting she is having an affair. Elizabeth Rohm is outstanding as a promising musician who gets involved with Houston and ends up unexpectedly getting pregnant. The movie flash forwards four years and the couple is now married and have 2 children. Houston's character is now well to do and very successful but Rohm's character is very unfulfilled. She longs to renew her career as a pianist and she starts to tutor a young violinist. This sets the stage for suspicions and the story follows along that theme.

I saw The Kreutzer Sonata at its first showing at the Edinburgh Film Festival and I didn't enjoy it at all. I'm not sure if the dialogue was scripted or improvised but it was rambling and boring. It's not even an original idea to make a film based on the Tolstoy story and the Beethoven sonata which inspired it - when I searched for the title I found 13 previous versions, the first made in 1911. I haven't seen any of them, but some surely must be better than this latest attempt. The music sounded good, but that's the only good point. The acting was wooden, the plot dragged, the voice-overs were very irritating. I advise you to avoid this film.

I've read my share of Tolstoy, but it is hard to envision the novella from this thoroughly modernized version. Nonetheless, this was a very engaging film. Some of the things that were heavily criticized, I found highly effective, such as the voice-over throughout the movie. Danny Huston sort of underplayed the role, letting the narration and plot define the anguish of his character. And I cannot say enough about Elisabeth Rohm, and how she brought her character to life. Her portrayal of Abby did not always leave me liking her (Abby), but it always had me believing her. And this is aside from Miss Rohm's beauty, which was even downplayed a bit. The film's ending was telegraphed from the beginning, so you couldn't call it suspenseful, but it held my interest throughout. Definitely worth checking out.

I adore Elizabeth Rohm. Not because she is a great actress, because she probably isn't, but because she is so alluring and real. Danny and Angelica Huston have always been solid performers.

This movie has everything, a great plot, great actors and an adequate budget. Somehow the sum of its parts is less than expected. I assume the directing was poor, because all of these people have been much better in other roles.

It is worth watching, a great study in jealously and human emotion.