I believe the story is way too bloated for its own good. It could have been cut down by at least 20-40 minutes for a tighter, more intimate movie. The romance between Robert Redford and Kristin Scott Thomas' characters was unconvincing and a major waste of time and almost ruined the main story of the tragic accident and recovery of Scarlett Johansson's character and her horse which I thought was very well done part of the film.
Sam Neill almost got lost in the shuffle until his final scenes when he admitted that the relationship between him and his wife was not as good now as it was in their earlier years. It was from the character's heart and mind and it was not a wasted moment.
It was nice to see Chris Cooper as Redford's brother. He always puts me on notice every time he appears in a movie. Also, Scarlett Johansson in her first major role.
Visually it was a beautiful-looking movie thanks to Oliver Stone's regular cinematographer Robert Richardson. I only saw the movie after buying Thomas Newman's musical score. His music cuts appear on many movie trailers in the past few years.
Bottom line, I have very mixed feelings. It did not deserve the epic-size scope for an intimate, simple storyline. In this movie, Redford the director is better than Redford the actor. Compared to his other movies, this ranks much lower than "Ordinary People", "Quiz Show" and even "The Milagro Beanfield War". As of now, I have not seen "A River Runs Through It" or "The Legend of Bagger Vance". At the same time, because of some very good performances, I did not feel it was a total waste of time.
Sam Neill almost got lost in the shuffle until his final scenes when he admitted that the relationship between him and his wife was not as good now as it was in their earlier years. It was from the character's heart and mind and it was not a wasted moment.
It was nice to see Chris Cooper as Redford's brother. He always puts me on notice every time he appears in a movie. Also, Scarlett Johansson in her first major role.
Visually it was a beautiful-looking movie thanks to Oliver Stone's regular cinematographer Robert Richardson. I only saw the movie after buying Thomas Newman's musical score. His music cuts appear on many movie trailers in the past few years.
Bottom line, I have very mixed feelings. It did not deserve the epic-size scope for an intimate, simple storyline. In this movie, Redford the director is better than Redford the actor. Compared to his other movies, this ranks much lower than "Ordinary People", "Quiz Show" and even "The Milagro Beanfield War". As of now, I have not seen "A River Runs Through It" or "The Legend of Bagger Vance". At the same time, because of some very good performances, I did not feel it was a total waste of time.