Title: The Affair of The Necklace (2001)Starring: Hilary Swank, Jonathan Pryce, Adrien Brody
Directed By: Charles Shyer
As far as period pieces go, this one is pretty by-the-books. Hilary Swank does the best she can, Simon Baker is likable, Christopher Walken is awesome, blah blah blah. I'd actually like to take this opportunity to voice a MAJOR complaint that I have with these costume dramas.
The British accent is NOT the default European accent! These actors are portraying historical FRENCH figures. From FRANCE! They spoke French, they've got French names, and yet somehow, in this movie everyone is BRITISH!?! It's been done a million times and it'll be done a million more, but it's just so awkward. You've got Scottish-born Brian Cox doing his best to sound like someone else, and he nails all of the French names, but every time he speaks with his best proper British accent (even in the voiceovers) it becomes painfully obvious that something just isn't right.
A lot of time and work goes into recreating the historical periods depicted in this type of film. The LEAST the casting directors can do is hire a vocal coach to help the actors achieve some type of realism. I understand it. I really do, but I just can't condone it.
Other than that, as I said, this is pretty basic stuff. The plot plays out kind of like a heist movie, which I liked, and the story is pretty intriguing. A few glaring (but not uncommon) errors only add to the mediocrity of the film, but that's not to say it isn't worth checking out. Just don't expect to be blown away. Or to hear any French accents in France.
Score: 6/10
No comments:
Post a Comment