Faithless

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic film, but DVD chapter titling a problem
Review: This movie is a bit boring and a bit hard to follow, but the actual plot is what makes it worth it. Sure, it's self-indulgent, almost to the point of being annoying, and the characters' real positions in the story are not obvious enough (Bergman most of all), but the movie is worth watching a few times, and enjoying for the honesty of the plot; the point is, what Bergman is portraying in this movie happens, happens often, and is not so difficult to relate to. A woman who has an affair, loses her husband, then loses her "affair-ee", ends up with almost nothing in the end but the sadness and guilt of losing everything and being confused and trying to cover up by lying and making choices that she thought she was making for the best: these things happen every day, to many people, and the brutal truth of the story makes it worth it. The acting is quite good, and for a movie in general, 'Faithless' is good, but for Bergman standards, it's definitely not up to potential. If you have an interest in Bergman, get 'Cries and Whispers' or if you want something strange, check out some of his older stuff, even 'Fanny and Alexander' is not quite as boring and confusing as 'Faithless,' but again, this is definitely a movie worth seeing.

Rating:
Summary: Not Bad, but Not Bergmanesque
Review: This movie is a bit boring and a bit hard to follow, but the actual plot is what makes it worth it. Sure, it's self-indulgent, almost to the point of being annoying, and the characters' real positions in the story are not obvious enough (Bergman most of all), but the movie is worth watching a few times, and enjoying for the honesty of the plot; the point is, what Bergman is portraying in this movie happens, happens often, and is not so difficult to relate to. A woman who has an affair, loses her husband, then loses her "affair-ee", ends up with almost nothing in the end but the sadness and guilt of losing everything and being confused and trying to cover up by lying and making choices that she thought she was making for the best: these things happen every day, to many people, and the brutal truth of the story makes it worth it. The acting is quite good, and for a movie in general, 'Faithless' is good, but for Bergman standards, it's definitely not up to potential. If you have an interest in Bergman, get 'Cries and Whispers' or if you want something strange, check out some of his older stuff, even 'Fanny and Alexander' is not quite as boring and confusing as 'Faithless,' but again, this is definitely a movie worth seeing.

Rating:
Summary: not even saved by a good actress
Review: While the female lead was strong, credible, and appealing, this contrived and forced movie left much to be desired. The angle of the little girl - Marianne's daughter - had undeveloped possibilities; and Marianne's retrospective suspended the pace and emotion of the movie. The actors were clearly capable and professional, but the whole effect was strained, annoying, and pretensious without any substance.