The Way We Live Now (2001)

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

A crooked financier brings the youth of high society London under his spell, until they all discover they're not so innocent ...Brilliantly witty adaptation of a sophisticated, layered story. The screenplay picks out all the strengths, as the fortunes of three families intersect. Suchet gives a great performance as the ubermensch villainous Jew, backed up in every scene with a playful score and trollish food mastication.The period detail is immaculate, but the editing captures Trollope's humour and avoids any over earnest romance. It also feels modern, just like the novel, in pointing out the theater of London finance - so much show with little substance, and a grim outcome for those who take it seriously. Yet the final montage opens up all sorts of possibilities, and gives a sense of hope.The performances are excellent. Some complaints about the southern American accent, but it sounds good to me, and the actress nailed her opening scene with menace. Cillian Murphy does come across a bit flappy, so his immaturity as a young actor is the only real weakness.Score and sound effects are wonderful. And the writing, direction, editing are seamless.Overall: More than a period drama.

The first rate sets, costumes and acting provide a lovely context for this complex web of love stories. Here are several love triangles that intersect and overlap.The plot lines took twists and turns like many great novels.From these hours a fascinating drama the various facets of human love were explored and exposed. Is it any wonder that romance can never fit nicely in any box? To marry for love or money and to marry with or without the blessing of parents are old themes that are explored effectively.Power, sex and romance are as powerful today as they have been anytime in history. And that makes the title of this movie all the more important.

Warning - I hated it.The entire time I was watching this, I kept feeling sorry for the poor set-construction crew. After each day's shooting ended, they only had around 12 hours to repair all of the serious damage caused by the actors chewing the scenery so hard; there must have been tooth-marks all over everything, and some of it was probably bitten right through. Perhaps they also had to keep a dental-hygenist on-set to assist with removing splinters from the actors teeth.The acting was generally atrocious, and I found Suchet's histrionics ghastly - it made me think of Jim Carrey going completely out of control, or Elizabeth Taylor's hysterics in "Suddenly Last Summer" - which people often mistake for serious acting. But I'd say that the primary responsibility for this shambles lies directly at the feet of a seriously incompetent and green director, and a surprisingly poor adaptation from Davies. I found it to be a horrible mess, and Trollope must be spinning in his grave.

Admiration for the abilities of screenwriter Andrew Davies led me to watch this miniseries. However, I'd have to call this a wasted effort on his part. Not having read the Trollope work on which it is based, nor having any desire to read it after viewing this film version, I can't say whether it is faithful to the original. But the main characters were generally too bizarre and unlikable for my taste, and two of the casting decisions--the parts of Paul Montague and Mrs. Hurtle--were positively grotesque.Paul Montague, the apparent hero of the piece, was supposed to be an American engineer, a person of some experience and expertise; no doubt the role called for a youngish man unaccustomed to smoky business dens, but this actor made him look like a fresh-faced adolescent--it's asking too much to suppose he could be believable in such a role. And trust me, no normal woman would fall in love with a character so effeminate--that's preposterous.And--bless my soul--Mrs. Hurtle; at first I was intrigued, thinking she was supposed to be a woman POSING as an American southern belle, a suspicious character in fact. I was astounded when it became apparent that she REALLY was supposed to be from the South; her accent was truly appalling, a caricature. A southern accent is generally so easy to mimic, it seems as though they must have searched hard for someone who couldn't do it. It was so gawd-awful that I still awaken sometimes in the middle of the night with her belabored diphthongs echoing in my nightmares.If these two mistakes had been less glaring, it is possible that the strangeness of the Melmotte characters might have been more tolerable. They certainly were interesting, and very well acted by David Suchet and Shirley Henderson. The latter has a particular gift for playing neurotic women, but she also was able to endow Marie Melmotte with some sweetness, and in the end, some sympathetic traits.4/10