Sally Potter's "The Man who Cried" turned up recently on cable. Not having seen it, and based on previous work by Ms. Potter and the cast, we decided to take a look. The film is beautiful to look at. The fabulous cinematography by Sacha Vierny serves the movie well. Also, there is great singing heard of operas by Bizet, Puccini, Verdi and Purcell.
The film is the saga of a little Russian girl in the search for her father who has gone to America in search of a better life and eventually, to send away for the ones left behind to share a life in a land of promise. It will take the whole film to have father and daughter reunited once again.
Christina Ricci is, in our humble opinion, sadly miscast in the film. By having her sing, Ms. Potter makes a blunder, because Ms. Ricci can't carry a tune. Why not have her lip-sync like Mr. Turturro does whenever he is seen in an opera, or belting a Neapolitan song for his friends? Ms. Ricci, a good actress, otherwise, is not as effective here as in other films.
Cate Blanchett fares much better with her Russian Lola. Ms. Blanchett makes a great contribution to the film, and she makes Ms. Ricci pale, in comparison. Ms. Blanchett gives a fantastic performance in the film. John Turturro is also excellent in the movie. His Dante Dominio, a famous tenor with a golden voice is a Fascist and a bigot.
Johnny Depp, who plays the gypsy Cesar, is another actor that doesn't live up to his potential. The only thing we can think it must have been Ms. Potter's direction, because Mr. Depp is a great actor who is usually effective in whatever role he plays. Also, we wonder why did Ms. Potter insist in having Cesar and his horse in all the operas one sees staged. The romance between Suzie and Cesar doesn't seem to work out.
"The Man who Cried" is a valiant attempt by Ms. Potter to present this multi layered story in a good way. Her excesses seem to work against her.
The film is the saga of a little Russian girl in the search for her father who has gone to America in search of a better life and eventually, to send away for the ones left behind to share a life in a land of promise. It will take the whole film to have father and daughter reunited once again.
Christina Ricci is, in our humble opinion, sadly miscast in the film. By having her sing, Ms. Potter makes a blunder, because Ms. Ricci can't carry a tune. Why not have her lip-sync like Mr. Turturro does whenever he is seen in an opera, or belting a Neapolitan song for his friends? Ms. Ricci, a good actress, otherwise, is not as effective here as in other films.
Cate Blanchett fares much better with her Russian Lola. Ms. Blanchett makes a great contribution to the film, and she makes Ms. Ricci pale, in comparison. Ms. Blanchett gives a fantastic performance in the film. John Turturro is also excellent in the movie. His Dante Dominio, a famous tenor with a golden voice is a Fascist and a bigot.
Johnny Depp, who plays the gypsy Cesar, is another actor that doesn't live up to his potential. The only thing we can think it must have been Ms. Potter's direction, because Mr. Depp is a great actor who is usually effective in whatever role he plays. Also, we wonder why did Ms. Potter insist in having Cesar and his horse in all the operas one sees staged. The romance between Suzie and Cesar doesn't seem to work out.
"The Man who Cried" is a valiant attempt by Ms. Potter to present this multi layered story in a good way. Her excesses seem to work against her.