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Brimstone and Treacle

Brimstone and Treacle

List Price: $19.98
Your Price: $17.98
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A parable that shows it's not all black and white
Review: One of the most interesting things about the movie is the title -- Martin (Sting) is Brimstone (punishment) for some characters and Treacle (reward) for others.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Zero Stars - One of the Worst Movies Ever Made
Review: Sting infiltrates a house and assualts a semi-comatose woman. Yuck! Misogynist, vile claptrap posing as an art film. Run away! Fast! If you want to see a similar story, watch the much better Theorem by Pasolini. Only surpassed in wretchedness by some Peter Greenaway movies.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dark film, interesting story, and great music.
Review: Tom Bates (Denholm Elliot) is a writer who pens little religious sentiments for things like greeting cards and hymns. His wife, Norma (Joan Plowright), is a kind and longsuffering woman who spends countless hours looking after their daughter, Patricia (Suzanna Hamilton), who is disabled. After what was thought to be a freak car-pedestrian accident, Patricia needs round-the-clock care. She cannot speak, cannot dress or bathe herself, cannot feed herself and cannot even seem to be cognizant of the daily events going on around her. Tom is convinced that Patricia is mentally 'gone' from them forever and she cannot understand anything said about her. Norma, on the other hand, is full of faith that Patricia can hear and understand everything. One day, everything changes. Tom, the disillusioned-with-faith writer of psalms, bumps into Martin Taylor (Sting). Martin claims to have been not just a friend of Patricia's from school, but a boyfriend who loved her enough to ask her to marry him. Tom is naturally suspicious of him, both because he fears Martin might be a con-man and because he is afraid Martin might shed some light on the reasons why Patricia had her accident in the first place. Martin finds out where the Bates family lives and drops in. Norma takes an instant liking to him and persuades Tom to let him stay with them. He and Tom have a number of minor battles but he continually bolsters his image with Norma. He seems to share her faith that God has something miraculous planned for Patricia and he even begins calling Norma "Mumsy." ... The climax of the film arrives late one night when Martin moves in on Patricia. His terrible treatment of her awakens something within her and suddenly she remembers the wicked event that caused her sickness in the first place. Martin flees but the viewer is left with the knowledge that Patricia will tell all and the situation will be made right at last.

There is certainly room for speculation, particularly with the title that the film has, that the author is trying to suggest that Martin Taylor's role is not entirely evil yet not entirely good either. Rather than painting him as a demon or an angel, he is more of a character who simply sheds light on things. I consider this to be one of Sting's best film performances if not *the* best, out of his rather lackluster (and I say that with sadness, because I am a fan) movie career. I would recommend this movie to any Sting fan or any follower of Denholm Elliot's career, anyone who enjoys dark and/or indie films and definitely anyone who enjoys trying to crack a good mystery.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: changed my opinion of sting... for a moment
Review: When I originally saw this, it disturbed me. I was about 19 and "loved" Sting. I had a hard time separating the music artist from the character in this film. It was probably the beginning of my love for independent film (I just didn't know it at the time). It is dark, a little humorous and does teach us a lesson about having secrets. I think all Sting fans should check this one out. It is different.

One other thing, the soundtrack is fantastic.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An interesting film that shows a new side to Sting.
Review: When this came out it was considered an on the edge film. It's a bit violent and the play with good vs. evil can cause some to get upset. But if you are seeing Brimstone and Treacle for the first time in the 2000's, Sting's character might seem pretty tame considering what has come out since. There is a lot of very nice acting and well written dialogue. Definitely worth catching for any fan of the indie film or Sting.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An interesting film that shows a new side to Sting.
Review: When this came out it was considered an on the edge film. It's a bit violent and the play with good vs. evil can cause some to get upset. But if you are seeing Brimstone and Treacle for the first time in the 2000's, Sting's character might seem pretty tame considering what has come out since. There is a lot of very nice acting and well written dialogue. Definitely worth catching for any fan of the indie film or Sting.


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