Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually walked out of this movie, which I never do. The morose sad-smart man figure had zero interest and the Mary character seemed like a real stereotype. Maybe I just have no empathy for repressed masculinity.

It got way more interesting as the story unfolded and you could see why characters were behaving the way they were …

I can believe that. Me walking out probably had a lot more to do with me and whatever the movie was triggering than the acting! I love Paul Giamatti and could watch Sideways every month.

If you love PG, you might give this movie another try sometime. I agree with some of the other posters who thought it was predictable and a bit sentimental, but I really liked PG's performance and was just remarking to my DH that the role allowed him to play a broader range than he often gets to -- his character makes a real shift by the end of the movie and PG really pulls it off.

I also felt that Da'Vine Joy Randolph was great in that role even if it was written very stereotypically. On paper her role/story arc feels very "we wanted a black character in this movie so we are eligible for awards but we had to make sure she was perfect and perfectly sympathetic so we don't get accused of racism." But the performance felt bigger than that, so good for her for doing a lot with the opportunity even if I think black actresses in Hollywood must see a lot of roles like this.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I actually walked out of this movie, which I never do. The morose sad-smart man figure had zero interest and the Mary character seemed like a real stereotype. Maybe I just have no empathy for repressed masculinity.

It got way more interesting as the story unfolded and you could see why characters were behaving the way they were …

I can believe that. Me walking out probably had a lot more to do with me and whatever the movie was triggering than the acting! I love Paul Giamatti and could watch Sideways every month.

Anonymous wrote:Best movie I've seen in years! Absolutely fantastic!

Agree - although we loved Oppenheimer as well.

Acting was top notch

This is now streaming on Peacock. Wonderful acting, rewarded by the Golden Globes.

I googled Angus actor and he was a hs student at Deerfield, one of the boarding schools they filmed at. He looks older than he was at the time of filming. He got injured as a hockey player in HS and signed up for an acting class-a complete natural.

Anonymous wrote:I actually walked out of this movie, which I never do. The morose sad-smart man figure had zero interest and the Mary character seemed like a real stereotype. Maybe I just have no empathy for repressed masculinity.

It got way more interesting as the story unfolded and you could see why characters were behaving the way they were …

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really enjoyed it too.

Agree with pp that Paul Giamati's character seemed over the top harsh on the head master.

OP - yeah that was the only piece that did not make sense - all the other plot developments were like peeling off layers off an onion to get to the pearly inside …

PG is such a brilliant actor and somehow made us root for his character’s despite his looks, personality, and often, his lines …

And smelling like fish!

He hated the headmaster for a few reasons, I think:

- The headmaster had been his student, and not a very good one
- He thought the headmaster was too concerned with money and power, and not enough with integrity and knowledge
- He resents all the rich, socially smooth people (who don't smell like fish) who he thinks always get whatever they want while he has to struggle for everything

Ok that makes sense - thank you! I thought the head master gave him a second chance when others would not though? …

Forgot about that unusual Medical condition that caused him to smell like fish. Poor guy! I’d be tempted to turn to cheap whiskey or whatever with his bad luck as well.

The movie director had such a great eye for retro detail - felt like I was in New England in the 70s!

The main young actor was top notch also. Guess we will Be seeing more of him …

You're right - he did give him a second chance! But then PG felt stuck. He was liberated at the end for getting fired

It was the PRIOR headmaster who gave Paul Giamatti’s character a second chance, not the headmaster you see in the movie. The prior headmaster died and the headmaster you see in the movie is Paul Giamatti's former student.

Thanks - that makes much more sense now

Best movie I've seen in years! Absolutely fantastic!

I actually walked out of this movie, which I never do. The morose sad-smart man figure had zero interest and the Mary character seemed like a real stereotype. Maybe I just have no empathy for repressed masculinity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have not seen it and have not read a single reply, I am going to try to scan for replies to this. I felt like the preview told a whole story and I thought it was going to be kind of hokey and predictable. Please reply to this post if you are so kind and without saying more about the movie tell me if you think that the movie went deeper than the preview?

Yeah? But not a lot?

I didn't think it was as great as everyone here seems to think. It was good. It is worth watching. But I thought it was predictable, sentimental, had some distractingly self-conscious acting at times (the kid, who apparently is new to acting), and some awkward writing. The whole broken-strangers-coming-together-and-becoming-found-family thing was heartwarming and worked on some levels, but I also didn't totally buy it, and it's a tired trope.

Certainly above par, though. And Paul Giammati is wonderful as always.

Agree that it was hokey and predictable and I felt like PG chose it to be his “Oh Captain, My Captain” movie. It was fine and there were some funny lines but it was also slooooowwww

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really enjoyed it too.

Agree with pp that Paul Giamati's character seemed over the top harsh on the head master.

OP - yeah that was the only piece that did not make sense - all the other plot developments were like peeling off layers off an onion to get to the pearly inside …

PG is such a brilliant actor and somehow made us root for his character’s despite his looks, personality, and often, his lines …

And smelling like fish!

He hated the headmaster for a few reasons, I think:

- The headmaster had been his student, and not a very good one
- He thought the headmaster was too concerned with money and power, and not enough with integrity and knowledge
- He resents all the rich, socially smooth people (who don't smell like fish) who he thinks always get whatever they want while he has to struggle for everything

Ok that makes sense - thank you! I thought the head master gave him a second chance when others would not though? …

Forgot about that unusual Medical condition that caused him to smell like fish. Poor guy! I’d be tempted to turn to cheap whiskey or whatever with his bad luck as well.

The movie director had such a great eye for retro detail - felt like I was in New England in the 70s!

The main young actor was top notch also. Guess we will Be seeing more of him …

You're right - he did give him a second chance! But then PG felt stuck. He was liberated at the end for getting fired

It was the PRIOR headmaster who gave Paul Giamatti’s character a second chance, not the headmaster you see in the movie. The prior headmaster died and the headmaster you see in the movie is Paul Giamatti's former student.

Anonymous wrote:I have not seen it and have not read a single reply, I am going to try to scan for replies to this. I felt like the preview told a whole story and I thought it was going to be kind of hokey and predictable. Please reply to this post if you are so kind and without saying more about the movie tell me if you think that the movie went deeper than the preview?

Yeah? But not a lot?

I didn't think it was as great as everyone here seems to think. It was good. It is worth watching. But I thought it was predictable, sentimental, had some distractingly self-conscious acting at times (the kid, who apparently is new to acting), and some awkward writing. The whole broken-strangers-coming-together-and-becoming-found-family thing was heartwarming and worked on some levels, but I also didn't totally buy it, and it's a tired trope.

Certainly above par, though. And Paul Giammati is wonderful as always.

Anonymous wrote:^^pp - so he must have been 17. I thought that actor really captured teenage awkwardness and angst.

I agree - although he looked a tad too old for the role, his emotional depth and communication of teen stuff was so good I forgot I was a tad distracted by the age piece …

I hope we see more of him - really good actor …

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have not seen it and have not read a single reply, I am going to try to scan for replies to this. I felt like the preview told a whole story and I thought it was going to be kind of hokey and predictable. Please reply to this post if you are so kind and without saying more about the movie tell me if you think that the movie went deeper than the preview?

Yes

ty! on the list!

^^pp - so he must have been 17. I thought that actor really captured teenage awkwardness and angst.