The Good Soldier
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Movie Reviews of The Good Soldier
Movie Review: An absolute must!
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is a gem. I bought Ford Madox Ford novel before watching it, to make sure I would understand. And when I watched the DVD, I saw that the movie was perfectly faithful to the novel. The story is beautiful and tragic , it shows how society prevents the characters to live freely their lives.It's not a shallow and light movie, it requests much attention to be quite understood, but the viewer is fully rewarded, because it is most interesting. It's also extremely beautiful to watch: the settings, the costumes, the actors and actresses, all is a pleasure for the eyes. Susan Fleetwood, Vickery Turner, Robin Ellis , Jeremy Brett, are perfect performers. I loved every one of them, but above all Jeremy Brett. This excellent british actor was often underrated (if you want him to be awarded, at least , a posthumous Bafta, see facebook: "posthumous BAFTA for Jeremy Brett". He was sometimes accused of overplaying; in "the good soldier", his performance is subtle, he expresses Ashburnam feelings with a mere look and it's enough...Really, it's a splendid movie.Movie Review: A stellar cast
Summary: 5 Stars
With a stellar cast that includes Jeremy Brett, Robin Ellis, Susan Fleetwood, Vickery Turner, Elizabeth Garvie, Pauline Moran, and John Ratzenberger, "The Good Soldier" is the story of two Edwardian couples who become friends when meeting for nine consecutive years at an annual retreat in a German spa. Superbly adapted from the novel by Ford Madox Ford, "The Good Soldier" features beautiful costuming, meticulous set designs, and superb photography in a 104 minute production that is technically flawless in its execution. Viewers are treated to an unfolding story of unexpected plot twists, memorable characters, and shifting perspectives, as this remarkably engaging story of love, loss, betrayal is revealed. Strongly recommended for community library video collections, the DVD format of "The Good Soldier" allows for the inclusion of a Ford Madox Ford biography, cast filmographies, and a scene index feature.Movie Review: The Good Soldier
Summary: 5 Stars
This Ford Maddox Ford's novel is a slice of Edwardian life... and a picture of life's psychological problems, errors and lack of resolution. Sad story - very common story. Unresolved issues and unhappy people. Unfortunately the quality of the video on the DVD is not good. But I am still happy to have a copy of this movie. Superb acting.Movie Review: Good Update for The Good Soldier
Summary: 5 Stars
The Good Soldier is an old favorite and one I thought I would always be condemned to view from an old VHS tape. The DVD is a great update of an old friend.Movie Review: Gorgeous production of a sad story
Summary: 4 Stars
I am a very visual person so I can sit through lots of meaningless despair as long as it photographed in beautiful settings with lots of lush costumes and fantastic architecture. This film has all of that. It helps that the cast is strong and rather attractive, too. It makes for a "good show."
As for the content, well...I found the story interesting, told as it is, from the view point of the man who was deceived. First we see the splendid surface--the two wealthy couples, one American, one English, in a German spa, pre-World War I. They spend several years together, performing, as the narrator says, a "minuet." A lovely picture. Then the narrator lets us in to the story behind the story, almost as he has discovered it. From reading some of the reviews of the book, it seems that the narrator is much more befuddled than he is portrayed in the film. That may be a flaw in the translation of book to film...I don't know. As the layers of the characters peel away and we learn of the rotten-ness at the core of the apple (his words), the story intensifies, or as they used to say, "the plot thickens."
My attention was held throughout, mostly by the strength of the actors and the visual splendors. The plot, itself, doesn't have much to offer modern audiences. We know about adultery, betrayal, revenge, hypocrasy. There is nothing here that illumines any of the characters, raises them up to a higher plane. No one changes, learns anything, grows, transcends his dire situation. Most of the players chose cowardly outs---three out of five chose suicide, and one descends into madness. So I wasn't left with a particularly satisfied feeling at the end.
The main character, who is supposed to be the befuddled weakling, was played by the charming Robin Ellis, who I fell in love with in the tv series, "Poldark." That's probably what kept my interest--not a great reason. But he remains as befuddled at the end as he was in the beginning. So one could ask "What's the point of all this?" Perhaps Ford Maddox Ford was using this as a means to discover answers to his the riddles of his own life. Here he offers us questions but no answers.
I suppose there is more value to the story if one were to read the novel, but having seen this, I don't think I'll bother. I give it four stars just for the splendid production. (It was really funny to see John Ratzenberger, Cliff Claven, the mail man in "Cheers," in a totally different setting.)
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