WOW!
I'm breathless after watching it... The play Wilde is of course a great material to work on... But it could suck in so many levels...
I have to say a loud and clear "F*CK OFF" to anyone who thinks that Al Pacino is over... He's a legend, both in screen and stage... As actor and director... And as Herod... Man, its only possible to think that Wilde only wrote the play to Al Pacino direct this version...
Some people complained about the clothing... Great actors were on stage, and they could be wearing black capes, futuristic clothes or even costumes of that time... I doubt that would be that different... Maybe with the proper costumes they wouldn't be that good... I mean, they would have the visual at their favor... Maybe they wouldn't put as much effort... OF COURSE THEY ARE GREAT PRO-ACTORS AND THEY WOULD BE GREAT EVEN IF THEY WERE NAKED!
For me, the movie have only one flaw... It was a little confusing at the beginning... Voices in off... Shots of stage and out-stage... BEFORE SALOMÉ ENTER IN SCENE I WAS KIND OF LOST... Unable to really get what was going on... I was distracted...
But Jessica entered... From that point to the very last scene, I couldn't blink... WOW!
Today, is pretty much obvious that she is one of the greatest actresses in activity... But the movie was rolled, I guess, between 2008 and 2010, before Jessica Chastain be THE Jessica Chastain. Al Pacino was the one who shown the world what a great artist she was.
I can only dream of watching it live... Its probably transcendental...
In resume: GREAT PLAY, great direction, Al Pacino was really good as Herod and the rest of the cast played their part very well either. BUT JESSICA CHASTAIN JUST BLEW MINDS WITH THAT PERFORMANCE...
