So apparently not every period drama can shape up to be as great as Downton Abbey, a series that longingly comes to mind when watching Declan Donnellan and Nick Oremerod's Bel Ami. What the two have in common: naughty drama in a period setting, adultery, backstabbing, blackmail, and class distinction. What separates the two is the sheer lack of liveliness in the film; an idea that never gets to be fully fleshed out as it might want to be and leaves us hungry for more
just maybe not more of the same.
The film takes on the story of Georges Duroy (Robert Pattinson), whose ambition to climb the social ladder and establish himself as a legitimate journalist is threatened by the very people he manipulates to get ahead: three mistresses of the men who stand in his way, played by Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Christina Ricci, respectively. As adultery, death, and utter conniving ensue, one would think this would be an irresistible drama. Pattinson's performance in addition to the lackluster screenplay all play into the films demise.
Pattinson's brooding charm and good looks are not, unfortunately, enough to deliver the type of depth of this period literary character and certainly not enough to carry this costume erotic drama on the hinges of his shoulders. The three women that he ends up courting over the course of the film provide sensual and theatrically arresting performances, but can't elevate the film to serve it's political and social thematic ambitions. With so much to explore, deriving from Guy de Maupassant's classic novel, it is a pity that the screenplay and filmmakers never bother spending too much time developing any of them.
The characters feel as if they were ripped from the pages without all of the insight that they deserve. Not being fully fleshed out, not even the melodrama can be completely effective. I've never read the novel that the film is based on, but a sense of emptiness can be felt within the adaptation. The film tries to create a drama out of developments that perhaps should have been made in the first act of the film, but ultimately never make it in. With a better and richer screenplay, the film could have actually benefited from an added half hour, to truly liven up the drama. However, I am not convinced that Pattinson's performance could have driven the narrative to any spectacular heights. Although Rachel Portman's score is layered and wonderful, it is the one of the only worthwhile aspects of the film. So for all the naughty melodrama that could have been fascinating with someone like Julian Fellowes at the helm and an actor such as Tom Hardy, but instead we get quite the opposite: ineffective lifelessness.
D+
The film takes on the story of Georges Duroy (Robert Pattinson), whose ambition to climb the social ladder and establish himself as a legitimate journalist is threatened by the very people he manipulates to get ahead: three mistresses of the men who stand in his way, played by Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Christina Ricci, respectively. As adultery, death, and utter conniving ensue, one would think this would be an irresistible drama. Pattinson's performance in addition to the lackluster screenplay all play into the films demise.
Pattinson's brooding charm and good looks are not, unfortunately, enough to deliver the type of depth of this period literary character and certainly not enough to carry this costume erotic drama on the hinges of his shoulders. The three women that he ends up courting over the course of the film provide sensual and theatrically arresting performances, but can't elevate the film to serve it's political and social thematic ambitions. With so much to explore, deriving from Guy de Maupassant's classic novel, it is a pity that the screenplay and filmmakers never bother spending too much time developing any of them.
The characters feel as if they were ripped from the pages without all of the insight that they deserve. Not being fully fleshed out, not even the melodrama can be completely effective. I've never read the novel that the film is based on, but a sense of emptiness can be felt within the adaptation. The film tries to create a drama out of developments that perhaps should have been made in the first act of the film, but ultimately never make it in. With a better and richer screenplay, the film could have actually benefited from an added half hour, to truly liven up the drama. However, I am not convinced that Pattinson's performance could have driven the narrative to any spectacular heights. Although Rachel Portman's score is layered and wonderful, it is the one of the only worthwhile aspects of the film. So for all the naughty melodrama that could have been fascinating with someone like Julian Fellowes at the helm and an actor such as Tom Hardy, but instead we get quite the opposite: ineffective lifelessness.
D+