Winner of 9 Oscars and one of the most highly regarded British films of recent years the English Patient comes with a requisite amount of critical baggage. Adapted from the supposedly unfilmable novel by Michael Ondaatje it tells the story of the mysterious Count Almásy (Ralph Fiennes), a Hungarian map maker who is injured in a plane crash in the Sahara desert during the war. As he is cared for in an abandoned monastery by his nurse Hana (Juliette Binoche) he recounts his story, a tale of a doomed love triangle, the result of which led him to his accident.
Beautifully shot and with a poise and elegance this is a classy film, filled with classy performances that moves at its own pace, and whose ultimate restraint may be its biggest failing. The film starts out slow, seemingly disconnected scenes detail Almásy’s plane crash and care, but there is nothing to really draw you into the story from the off and the sense of disconnection follows throughout. Once we are established and the flashbacks begin the film comes alive. Fiennes and Kristin Scott-Thomas have great chemistry and the complex nature of their characters make them interesting to watch, however the nature of their affair make them unsympathetic and there is never enough romance or genuine affection between them to fully disguise the selfish nature of their affair. That said Fiennes gives a fantastic performance throughout, half of it through some heavy make up, his unlikeable and hard nosed character hints at depths and a past we are never told about, it is an intense display but his prickly nature and selfish desire lead to him becoming unsympathetic, something that results in a more emotional coldness towards the end, when it really should be at its most affecting.
Binoche however is radiant as always and some of her scenes with the local security force officer Kip (Naveen Andrews) are great examples of creating emotional attachment with little time, and in fact one scene towards the end of the film is almost unbearably tense and involving, purely down to their chemistry and characters. The film as a whole is overlong and slightly overwrought, its build up to the climax feels overworked and the final revelations are not as interesting as we may have been led to believe. However there is a bittersweet sadness to the tale and the acting and direction elevate it above most other productions.
At the end of the day this is a technically accomplished and well acted drama whose only main critical failing is its failure to properly connect to the audience through its main characters. Many I’m sure would disagree but personally it failed to have the resonance I would have expected. So a landmark film it remains and a good example of British film no doubt, but one whose sense of importance seems unjustified or at least overestimated.
Accomplished and elegant with a hatful of great performances, but let down by its refusal to dig deeper into its characters leaving a disconnect that can leave the viewer cold. The supporting cast redeem this to an extent but the serious drama and slow pace hold this back from the film it maybe could have been.
Winner of 9 Oscars and one of the most highly regarded British films of recent years the English Patient comes with a requisite amount of critical baggage. Adapted from the supposedly unfilmable novel by Michael Ondaatje it tells the story of the mysterious Count Almásy (Ralph Fiennes), a Hungarian map maker who is injured in a plane crash in the Sahara desert during the war. As he is cared for in an abandoned monastery by his nurse Hana (Juliette Binoche) he recounts his story, a tale of a doomed love triangle, the result of which led him to his accident.
Beautifully shot and with a poise and elegance this is a classy film, filled with classy performances that moves at its own pace, and whose ultimate restraint may be its biggest failing. The film starts out slow, seemingly disconnected scenes detail Almásy’s plane crash and care, but there is nothing to really draw you into the story from the off and the sense of disconnection follows throughout. Once we are established and the flashbacks begin the film comes alive. Fiennes and Kristin Scott-Thomas have great chemistry and the complex nature of their characters make them interesting to watch, however the nature of their affair make them unsympathetic and there is never enough romance or genuine affection between them to fully disguise the selfish nature of their affair. That said Fiennes gives a fantastic performance throughout, half of it through some heavy make up, his unlikeable and hard nosed character hints at depths and a past we are never told about, it is an intense display but his prickly nature and selfish desire lead to him becoming unsympathetic, something that results in a more emotional coldness towards the end, when it really should be at its most affecting.
Binoche however is radiant as always and some of her scenes with the local security force officer Kip (Naveen Andrews) are great examples of creating emotional attachment with little time, and in fact one scene towards the end of the film is almost unbearably tense and involving, purely down to their chemistry and characters. The film as a whole is overlong and slightly overwrought, its build up to the climax feels overworked and the final revelations are not as interesting as we may have been led to believe. However there is a bittersweet sadness to the tale and the acting and direction elevate it above most other productions.
At the end of the day this is a technically accomplished and well acted drama whose only main critical failing is its failure to properly connect to the audience through its main characters. Many I’m sure would disagree but personally it failed to have the resonance I would have expected. So a landmark film it remains and a good example of British film no doubt, but one whose sense of importance seems unjustified or at least overestimated.
Accomplished and elegant with a hatful of great performances, but let down by its refusal to dig deeper into its characters leaving a disconnect that can leave the viewer cold. The supporting cast redeem this to an extent but the serious drama and slow pace hold this back from the film it maybe could have been.
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