pugdad

Doesn't anyone in Norway take a bath regularly is all I could think of during most of the viewing of this misguided effort. The film wanders so much that the viewer begins to think that they are making it up as they go along. The characters are never clearly developed, and their relationships are even less understood. Story? There really is none. This is truly an amateur effort. It will now be difficult for me to avoid films from Norway in the future.

This is a rather typical Woody Allen film. It is overly written and has a large cast of today's well known screen personalities with some stars. The dialogue is the usual talkly Allenesque verbiage, for which he has become famous. Kenneth Branagh has the "Woody Allen role", presumably because Woody has become too old for it, and performs Woody's ticks and mannerisms to the point of parody. The weaknesses in the film are (1) that Branagh is able to earn the interest of such attractive women (never believable), and (2) Joe Mantegna's interest in the Judy Davis' paranoid, goofball character is never remotely believable and is in fact never explained. What is remarkable is that Allen is able to bring out a wonderful performance by Winona Ryder, something I have never seen before from this wide eyed, cupie doll actress. This film is probably only going to be really enjoyed by strong Woody Allen fans and fans who like to see a lot of "movie stars" parading across the screen.

Edward Norton gives a mesmerizing performance (a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination) in this story of Nazi skinhead philosophy and the tragic ramifications of blindly believing in that philosophy. Most of the other actors give splendid, well directed performances giving full support to the literate and realistic script that carefully and succinctly presents the arguments for both sides. The story is spellbinding in the telling and this well paced film keeps the viewer's attention riveted for most of its length. This is one of those movies whose profound impact will stick with you long after leaving the theater, and not enough good things can be said about Norton, who, with this role, rises to become one of the top actors now working. Any thoughtful filmgoer won't want to miss this film.