-- Ramascreen.com --
A biopic that means well but is rather average in its execution. Michelle Yeoh gives the best that she could but perhaps Luc Besson may not be the right filmmaker for the job because every scene moves rapidly like A-D-D, it tries to cover all the historic moments, all the danger, and the threats that when the relationship parts come in, they don't feel as real and as powerful anymore. This could've been a great biopic about a truly great woman but even with the runtime of 127 minutes, the film falls short
I don't necessarily blame Yeoh, I think she does a wonderful job and this may well be the performance of her lifetime, but she can only do so much. I don't blame David Thewlis either because I think he's a fantastic actor and the fact that he could play dual roles and does a splendid job in doing so is a testament to his talent. The script suffers from unintentionally laughable dialogue, fortune cookie wise words and weak supporting characters. I'm a big fan of Luc Besson's action/thriller films and I can tell that whenever we deal with scenes involving the soldiers oppressing the Burmese, there's a certain Besson action style to it. He knows how to appropriately, cinematically present those situations. But when it comes to the emotional drama or the supposedly profound moments between two characters, Besson seems lazy and impatient, as if he wants to just get over with it already and move on to the next, perhaps because he thinks there are other grounds that they need to cover.
There's a scene where Aung Sang Suu Kyi finally has a reflective heart to heart conversation with her husband Michael about what has taken place over the years, on whether or not he has any regret staying married to her after not being allowed to visit her for months and sometimes for years. I understand that the film intends on giving us a patriotic woman and a family woman all in one and how hard it is for her to balance both. That could be the scene that redeems the film's prior weaknesses and yet they don't make good use of it. What it does instead is reveal a side about Aung San Suu Kyi's shortcomings but by this time it's already too late. The film spends so much time making her the most idealistic, perfect, role model, freedom-loving person on the planet and then suddenly she drops the 'I'm not perfect' bomb?! It's too late to tap into the potentially flawed character and the depth that could make us empathize because by this time we already couldn't care less. It's as if they try to briefly apologize for not presenting that side of Aung Sang Suu Kyi early on in the film.
The soldiers, the bad guys, the villains in this film try too hard to be evil and heartless, they end up being comical, it's hard not to laugh at the way they carry themselves. Very poorly acted! Aung Sang Suu Kyi is one of the most revered women in history because of what she stands for, because of her determination, and her strength. Her story is one that must be told from generation to generation. She's a symbol of freedom and patriotism. Yeoh somewhat looks like Suu Kyi and Yeoh embodies her anguish. Obviously it was not possible for Yeoh to meet Suu Kyi in person and so I respect Yeoh's efforts and research in trying to understand Suu Kyi's motivation and sacrifices she adopts her language and her delicate mannerism. And I sure hope Yeoh's work gets recognized and I hope this average film doesn't deter today's generation from being inspired to read more about Suu Kyi and to apply her principles and conviction in day to day life.
-- Ramascreen.com --
A biopic that means well but is rather average in its execution. Michelle Yeoh gives the best that she could but perhaps Luc Besson may not be the right filmmaker for the job because every scene moves rapidly like A-D-D, it tries to cover all the historic moments, all the danger, and the threats that when the relationship parts come in, they don't feel as real and as powerful anymore. This could've been a great biopic about a truly great woman but even with the runtime of 127 minutes, the film falls short
I don't necessarily blame Yeoh, I think she does a wonderful job and this may well be the performance of her lifetime, but she can only do so much. I don't blame David Thewlis either because I think he's a fantastic actor and the fact that he could play dual roles and does a splendid job in doing so is a testament to his talent. The script suffers from unintentionally laughable dialogue, fortune cookie wise words and weak supporting characters. I'm a big fan of Luc Besson's action/thriller films and I can tell that whenever we deal with scenes involving the soldiers oppressing the Burmese, there's a certain Besson action style to it. He knows how to appropriately, cinematically present those situations. But when it comes to the emotional drama or the supposedly profound moments between two characters, Besson seems lazy and impatient, as if he wants to just get over with it already and move on to the next, perhaps because he thinks there are other grounds that they need to cover.
There's a scene where Aung Sang Suu Kyi finally has a reflective heart to heart conversation with her husband Michael about what has taken place over the years, on whether or not he has any regret staying married to her after not being allowed to visit her for months and sometimes for years. I understand that the film intends on giving us a patriotic woman and a family woman all in one and how hard it is for her to balance both. That could be the scene that redeems the film's prior weaknesses and yet they don't make good use of it. What it does instead is reveal a side about Aung San Suu Kyi's shortcomings but by this time it's already too late. The film spends so much time making her the most idealistic, perfect, role model, freedom-loving person on the planet and then suddenly she drops the 'I'm not perfect' bomb?! It's too late to tap into the potentially flawed character and the depth that could make us empathize because by this time we already couldn't care less. It's as if they try to briefly apologize for not presenting that side of Aung Sang Suu Kyi early on in the film.
The soldiers, the bad guys, the villains in this film try too hard to be evil and heartless, they end up being comical, it's hard not to laugh at the way they carry themselves. Very poorly acted! Aung Sang Suu Kyi is one of the most revered women in history because of what she stands for, because of her determination, and her strength. Her story is one that must be told from generation to generation. She's a symbol of freedom and patriotism. Yeoh somewhat looks like Suu Kyi and Yeoh embodies her anguish. Obviously it was not possible for Yeoh to meet Suu Kyi in person and so I respect Yeoh's efforts and research in trying to understand Suu Kyi's motivation and sacrifices she adopts her language and her delicate mannerism. And I sure hope Yeoh's work gets recognized and I hope this average film doesn't deter today's generation from being inspired to read more about Suu Kyi and to apply her principles and conviction in day to day life.
-- Ramascreen.com --