This follows the standard pattern for the reverse con: an elaborate movie on a movie, with turnabout at the end. The novelties here are that the con is really a movie, the movie we see, and because of that we ourselves are conned into thinking that we are seeing a romantic drama.
Its very nicely imagined, with just the right overall shape. And there are moments when the girl is effective. But all the actual cinematic qualities you need are delivered poorly. In particular, you need a rhythm-in-the-small.
Everything grows from that. Its the key thing that's missing here. When you make an effective con movie, you rely on that rhythm to lull the audience, to suck them in. One indirect narrative lever here is that the two lovers are Latn: the guy is Brazilian, the girl Spanish, both in London. So they tried to insert a flamenco section she's a part-time dancer. I just saw a film that did this effectively: Mike Figgis' "Hotel. In fact, its a matter of genius that it unifies the thing.
No such luck here. Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements. Director and screenplay writer Matthew Parkhill tells us that one has to dot the I in the word love in Spanish when there isn't such need for anyone to do so since the word doesn't contain the letter! Well, if one believes that, then there is nothing wrong with this film that seems to get a favorable reaction from the people that have watched it if one goes by the votes of ten and nine given in this forum.
We never heard about such thing as the bride-to-be must pick out a handsome stranger to kiss during her shower, in France, or in any other country. Evidently, if Carmen liked what she saw in Kit, then why bother to marry Barnaby? It appears the Englishman was not great in the sex department, something that the hot Brazilian was able to fulfill without any problem.
The first minutes of the film are fine. Then, it meanders with no definitive direction as we are asked to stretch our imagination beyond the limit. The three principals show no chemistry. What's more the situation is somewhat absurd and goes from a romantic comedy into a film noir which doesn't make much sense.
The only problem we experienced was one of credibility. Gabriel Garcia Bernal working in English doesn't seem as sharp as in his previous Mexican appearances.
Natalia Verbeke shows stiffness as a flamenco dancer. James DArcy goes into a complete transformation from a man consumed by love for the beautiful Carmen into someone else. What starts out as a well-done but typical "love triangle" tale turns into a smart, multilayered demonstration of the age-old motto "appearances can be deceiving".
It's a film that repeatedly pulls the rug out from under your feet, yet all the pieces of the well-put-together puzzle fit, and all the clues are there. The use of video camera shots may seem excessive at first, but eventually you'll find out it was justified; at the end there are none of the "loose ends" that you usually find in this type of movie - all the questions are answered. Even as one who loves the strange and bizarre in cinema, this viewer opted out of the credibility game as the film turns from a subtle evaluation of relationships, commitments, initial physical attraction, and interesting push pull stance placed on the heroine of the story into a rapid fire series of plot twists and convolutions that simply become silly.
But the good parts: Carmen Natalia Verbeke, and Argentinean actress who is beautiful to look at but difficult to understand through her accent is at a hen party in a restaurant, and is challenged to choose the last man she will ever kiss before her upcoming marriage to wealthy and handsome Barnaby James D'Arcy. They kiss and that kiss is videotaped by Kit's two buddies who apparently tape everything that catches their interest.
This long kiss begins uncontrolled passion between Carmen and Kit and when their affair is discovered by Barnaby the plot turns. From this point on Carmen's allegiance to either Kit's passionate nature and Barnaby's promise of the good life cause problems. And the plot falls apart. It seems everything about these people is on videotape and the whole question of privacy in this current world of intrusion is vividly portrayed!
But the 'suicides', threats, games, and every conceivable plot twist occurs making the viewer ultimately not really care about any of the three characters. Matthew Park hill has skills and vision. His camera work and pacing are really fine and he allows his actors to flesh out their roles well.
There is a fine chemistry between Bernal and Verbeke: with Bernal on the screen it would be difficult for they're not to be! But this film feels like a boardroom project with everybody's vote on how to end the story included as a photographed option. Grady Harp. In London, a Spanish woman finds passion with a stranger a week before she is to be married. The main attraction here other than the leading lady is a somewhat clever plot twist.
Unfortunately, there's little else. Making his first feature film, writer-director Parkhill tries to put in every trick he learned from watching MTV videos. It comes across as amateurish in terms of story and direction, botching whatever potential the film had of being a decent thriller.
As the temperamental Carmen, Verbeke is hot looking but her acting is lukewarm. As the Latin lover, Bernal doesn't do much except look intense. D'Arcy, who looks like Norman Bates in "Psycho," is rather bland as the ditched husband.
My summary line above just about says it all. It is also the first time I have seen the female lead Natalia Verbeke in any role. It also may be the first time I have seen the other lead actor James D'Arcy perform.
I want to see more of all the above. This is a romantic comedy, that get a bit dramatic towards the end. I cannot understand why this only opened in a few theatres. It is much better than most of the films that open in o theatres. When I was watching this movie, I thought: ''Okay,I already know the ending of it''. And when I came near the end, all the things I thought I would know, vanished. The story itself seems not to be a big deal until you see the End. I never imagined that the character Barnaby or he would be Ford?
Each movie I watch that he is there, I start to like him even more. Director Matthew Parkhill. Matthew Parkhill. Top credits Director Matthew Parkhill. See more at IMDbPro. Trailer Dot the I. Photos Top cast Edit. James D'Arcy Barnaby F. Caspian as Barnaby F. Tom Hardy Tom as Tom. Charlie Cox Theo as Theo. Michael Webber Landlord as Landlord. Richard Clifford Registrar as Registrar. Mark Spalding Policeman as Policeman.
Paul Shelley Presenter as Presenter. Meh, it passed the time. So Fresh: Absolute Must See! You're almost there! Just confirm how you got your ticket. Cinemark Coming Soon.
Regal Coming Soon. By opting to have your ticket verified for this movie, you are allowing us to check the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against an email address associated with a Fandango ticket purchase for the same movie.
There are no featured reviews for Dot the I because the movie has not released yet. Top Box Office. More Top Movies Trailers. Certified Fresh Picks. Loki: Season 1. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: Season 1. The Walking Dead: Season Certified Fresh Pick. View All. Fall TV. Celebrating Hispanic Heritage. Log in with Facebook. Email address. Log In. First Name. Last Name. By signing up, you agree to receiving newsletters from Rotten Tomatoes. You may later unsubscribe. Create your account Already have an account?
Email Address. Real Quick. We want to hear what you have to say but need to verify your email. Keyboard Shortcuts. Login to report an issue. You need to be logged in to continue. Click here to login or here to sign up. We use cookies to help give you a better experience on TMDB.
You can review our cookie policy to learn more.
0コメント