Rowing with the Wind

Rating:
Summary: not very interesting
Review: maybe i'm just too picky because i'm fond of the quality of recent bbc films. i did not think much of this movie (pseudo-artsy, in my opinion..very drab and plotless). the characters are flat and boring. honestly, i can't believe i watched the whole movie.

Rating:
Summary: Hisotrically Inaccurate But Highly Entertaining
Review: There are three movies that focus on the life and times of Mary Shelley which I have seen to date. They are Rowing With The Wind, Haunted Summer, and Gothic. Of these, only Haunted Summer comes close to being truly accuate to what really happened. Nevertheless, despite the many innacuracies in this particular film, such as Dr Polidori dying in Switzerland five years earlier than he really did and in the wrong country, this is a very enjoyable piece of work. I've always loved the story of "the Romantics", and this film endevours to tell the story of Mary Shelley from the time she leaves England with Percey and Claire to events after Byron's death. While it was important to me to know the truth about everything that really happened, my vivid imagination enjoys films like this that take liberty with the truth, which is also why I enjoyed Gothic. However, Haunted Summer was equally enjoyable, which I suppose means that in the case of our Romantic heroes, their story as it really happened suffices as sheer entertainment. I gave this film four stars, denying it a fifth soley because of the historical innacuracies.

Rating:
Summary: Hisotrically Inaccurate But Highly Entertaining
Review: There are three movies that focus on the life and times of Mary Shelley which I have seen to date. They are Rowing With The Wind, Haunted Summer, and Gothic. Of these, only Haunted Summer comes close to being truly accuate to what really happened. Nevertheless, despite the many innacuracies in this particular film, such as Dr Polidori dying in Switzerland five years earlier than he really did and in the wrong country, this is a very enjoyable piece of work. I've always loved the story of "the Romantics", and this film endevours to tell the story of Mary Shelley from the time she leaves England with Percey and Claire to events after Byron's death. While it was important to me to know the truth about everything that really happened, my vivid imagination enjoys films like this that take liberty with the truth, which is also why I enjoyed Gothic. However, Haunted Summer was equally enjoyable, which I suppose means that in the case of our Romantic heroes, their story as it really happened suffices as sheer entertainment. I gave this film four stars, denying it a fifth soley because of the historical innacuracies.

Rating:
Summary: Not entirely without redeeming features
Review: Well, there's no getting around the fact that the film has no apparent point. Why is the filmmaker telling this story? What is the point of the monster? What, ultimately, are we supposed to get out of watching this? We will never know.

That being said, I do have to put in a good work for Hugh Grant. He's always been underrated as an actor (partially his own fault, for playing all those ridiculous floppy-haired roles, and he's always been very good in roles he seems to be a bizarre choice for (Chopin, anyone?). The same is true here. Apparently Grant was cast because the writer-director was struck by his resemblance to Byron -- yet, he doesn't resemble Byron at all, and the ridiculous blond hair he gets halfway through the movie doesn't bring him any closer. What he does manage to do is give Byron some depth and some sort of line of growth. He's utterly shallow and unintentionally funny, at the beginning of the film, but by the end he has understanding and a certain amount of wisdom. The other thing Grant succeeds in doing, which no actor before has ever succeeded in doing, is making Byron human. He doesn't just sneer caddishly; he displays at least a bit of layered emotion (although admittedly not much, and Grant gives the part more than the writing offers).

That being said, Grant is pretty much all the film has going for it. Gasp! at the size of the women's bonnets. Titter! at the almost completely one-dimensional portrayal of Shelley. Wonder! why the monster has to pause after every word. Roll your eyes! at the movie's determination to substitute previous fictional versions of incidents for what actually happens. And most of all, Recoil in horror! from Elizabeth Hurley's massive caterpillar eyebrows. Wow, did she ever change substantially once she shoved herself into that Versace dress and got famous.

After all this, I still would absolutely rather sit through this than through the repellently inaccurate "Haunted Summer." That movie is a disgrace to fact and to those who are interested in the Romantics.