I am a big fan of Richard Harris but he unfortunately hasn't had interesting roles very often. Camelot was endearing, Wild Geese was entertaining, Cromwell was interesting but none of that showed his real power as an actor. This movie does at last! Alec Guinness said once that true comedians are theater actors because we don't see their faces up-close and they can act a different personality than themselves whereas cinema actors are often shot very close and therefore, they show much more their own self: think about Jimmy Stewart (certainly very close from his characters). I think that Richard Harris was also very close to the characters he embodied and it makes me like him even more.
But let's talk about the movie: it's very well shot, edited, adapted, superbly acted. The storyline is very well developed with an amazing character study, very profound and very moving. Technically, it's not very far from deserving a 10 out of 10, but I may give this grade for personal reasons, because the movie touches me particularly. It talks about loneliness and the aging of the body, the frustrations from both. Harris meets Duvall (also amazing) and become friend with him. Both are very lonely. Harris waits for his son, who is living faraway, and who planned to take him to the fireworks for the 4th of July. At the last minute, the son cancels his visit. It leaves Harris devastated with disappointment and sadness. Maybe, the character that Harris plays hasn't been a very good dad and this maybe why the son isn't very kind and caring with him, but what about forgiveness? We obviously pick side for Harris' character because despite his flaws, he's touching and endearing. I live very far from my dad (he's back in Europe). He's aging, he's lonely and even if we get along very well and I have nothing to reproach to myself, I feel sorry for him and this movie reminds me of his life and breaks my heart. I am still young but I have known loneliness and I can imagine the difficulties of having an aging body. It scares me like most of us I presume. Watch this movie if you want to know a little bit more about life.
But let's talk about the movie: it's very well shot, edited, adapted, superbly acted. The storyline is very well developed with an amazing character study, very profound and very moving. Technically, it's not very far from deserving a 10 out of 10, but I may give this grade for personal reasons, because the movie touches me particularly. It talks about loneliness and the aging of the body, the frustrations from both. Harris meets Duvall (also amazing) and become friend with him. Both are very lonely. Harris waits for his son, who is living faraway, and who planned to take him to the fireworks for the 4th of July. At the last minute, the son cancels his visit. It leaves Harris devastated with disappointment and sadness. Maybe, the character that Harris plays hasn't been a very good dad and this maybe why the son isn't very kind and caring with him, but what about forgiveness? We obviously pick side for Harris' character because despite his flaws, he's touching and endearing. I live very far from my dad (he's back in Europe). He's aging, he's lonely and even if we get along very well and I have nothing to reproach to myself, I feel sorry for him and this movie reminds me of his life and breaks my heart. I am still young but I have known loneliness and I can imagine the difficulties of having an aging body. It scares me like most of us I presume. Watch this movie if you want to know a little bit more about life.