The Dinner

11/24/17. A somewhat stellar cast is caught up in the quagmire of the totally vacuous lives of the extremely rich and empty-headed. Watching paint dry is more exciting than the way these people avoid the necessary discussion at hand. Lasted only 29 minutes, and that was 28 minutes too long.

Movies are almost never as good as the book so nobody needs to hear that fact of life over and over again so please stop. The casting for this film was excellent as was the decadence portrayed through "food art", interior decor, and a virtual army of overly attentive wait staff. It burned a little too slow for my taste in the beginning but picked up once it became clear that the kids had done something awful. I don't know if the story was designed to compel viewers to do a complete180 in terms of liking or disliking characters by the time it ended but it did so for me. By the end of it my opinions had flipped. Richard Gere's crisis of conscience was a bit of a surprise to me and I felt enough pity for Paul by the end of it to excuse his general contempt for the entire human race. Lord knows I feel that way sometimes. The two wives morphed into self serving piranhas. Without giving away spoilers they both had to fight really hard to get a seat at the table (pun intended...I think). Sometimes really good people go on self absorbed power trips when they realize that their relentless drive to keep fighting and to only focus on themselves was the only reason they were able to overcome a really bad past situation. It isn't too far fetched to to assume that some folks opt to stay in that battleship mode to avoid having to go through more trauma. Both wives made it crystal clear that the whole world can burn except for family and even then there may be some smoke damage. Their contempt for the homeless and constantly repeating that it was just an accident was nauseating so they both played their roles extremely well and nobody should dog this movie for that.

There wasn't an end but that's sort of the point. Life is a messy sequence of good and bad experiences and then you die...fin. Nonetheless, sudden endings in movies is nothing new and now just comes across as a little bit lazy. I gave this an extra star for the culinary aspects. If you're not already well versed in the subject I recommend turning subtitles on to catch the correct spellings of what was prepared for each course. I rolled my eyes when the host gushed over the "oh so controversial" cheese banned by the FDA with no explanation given by him. I stand corrected as it turns out that it's a French cheese that purposely introduces "cheese mites" to facilitate a chemical process that gives the rind a distinct taste and texture.

Richard Gere had one expression and broods through the entire film. Laura Linney's character was completely devoted to a completely unlovable character. None of the relationships seemed believable. There could have been a big payoff with any number of exquisite conclusions to this film, but the ending to this film was singularly & almost devastatingly unsatisfying.

Would the movie be a dark comedy? a domestic drama? A murder mystery?

Apparently, the director couldn't make up his mind. Instead, he gave us a dinner party with characters so smug, self-absorbed and repulsive that, until the actual crime was revealed, I thought the movie was a dark comedy version of "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie."

This movie is full of great actors, a rich premise and an emotionally provocative moral question about how far we would go to protect those we love. Unfortunately, it takes two hours to raise the question, and, by then, I detested all the characters do much that I didn't care what the answer was.

Apparently, neither did the director,

I stuck it through to the end, mainly because the cast are so great. Normally. But nothing could save this film. The script and over-talking and intercutting made it all a jumbled mess.

There was no one to root for. And the ending? It's like it ran out of steam and subdural ideas and appalling dialogue.

A killing at the end might have saved it. But I was beyond caring.

Fisticuffs among bros, I've seen too much of that lately in more films and series than I can count.

Spare me.

1/10