With much trepidation I ventured to go see Original Sin. It was with hesitation and angst because I really didn't think there was much to look forward to in the film. The trailers didn't make it look overly appealing and to be honest I really didn't hear much from the stars in the promotion department. But, today it is about 45 degrees here in Toronto ( that is about 110 for our metrically challenged American friends ) and even though I had pretty much seen everything else, the idea of spending 2 hours in an air conditioned theater and only paying six dollars to see the film, appealed to me. So I did. And to be honest, I can't decide if it is a film that I enjoyed or I despised or if it is somewhere in between. There were times when I was mildly interested, times when I was emotionally involved and there were many times when I was completely apathetic to it. So what do I say about a film that makes me feel so much yet so little. Well it was better than many of the teen gross out comedies that have come out in the past few years and not as good as almost every other film I have seen. So that means it rates around a 6 out of 10.
Spoilers ahead!
The film is about deceit and how love can blind you and make you do silly and/or stupid things. Antonio Banderas has it all at the beginning of this film. He is a handsome man that enjoys the fruits of his coffee business and he is now looking forward to meeting his new bride that he sent away for from the U.S. ( leave it up to those damn Americans to ruin everything ). What was puzzling was why Jolie has a British accent if she was from Delaware or Maryland or wherever. But no matter. Jolie is that bride and when asked why she replied to newspaper about a Cuban that wanted a woman to marry and bear children, she replies that she is looking to forget the past and start a new future. So they move on and get married that same day.
The beginning of the film moves along at a snails pace. For the first half an hour, nothing happened. They met, they married, they had sex, in which we get to see lots of Jolie and her ample bosom, but it was actually quite boring. Then something wonderful happens. We find out that Jolie is not who she says she is and she has taken all of his money and left him, penniless and heart broken. Now I was intrigued and for the next half an hour we get to see the deception involved. Banderas goes to Havana to find her with the help of a detective from the U.S. and low and behold, he finds her in Havana. They make up and then get back together and then the real deceit begins.
Original Sin is good when there are elements of surprise flanking the story but incredibly mundane when they are telling the rest of the tale. There are two many shots of Jolies' lips and to agree with some of the other reviewers in here, the editting in the film was bothersome and annoying. I don't know why they would edit it that way except to think that they did it because it is like they were editting it the way someone tells a story, with deliberate breaks and rebeginnings. Sort of like..." and then she did this" "and then he came to her" and so on. But the editting process was not at all done properly and no matter what effect they were going for, it failed miserably.
Finally we get to the end where it makes the film sort of misunderstood, at least by me. I couldn't understand what they were trying to tell the audience, and they were clearly talking to the audience as they looked straight into the camera and told their tale. It reminded me a bit of The Usual Suspects in the sense that you are wondering if this was a story all told from the two leads point of view, therefore never knowing what was real and what was a fabrication.
Original Sin is not a terrible film, it isn't a great film. It is a little murky and if that is what they were going for then they succeeded beautifully. I wouldn't want to see it again, even though there are many unanswered questions. It was just too... strange.
6 out of 10-- Not something you want to spend your money on in the summer time. Bring on American Pie 2!!
Spoilers ahead!
The film is about deceit and how love can blind you and make you do silly and/or stupid things. Antonio Banderas has it all at the beginning of this film. He is a handsome man that enjoys the fruits of his coffee business and he is now looking forward to meeting his new bride that he sent away for from the U.S. ( leave it up to those damn Americans to ruin everything ). What was puzzling was why Jolie has a British accent if she was from Delaware or Maryland or wherever. But no matter. Jolie is that bride and when asked why she replied to newspaper about a Cuban that wanted a woman to marry and bear children, she replies that she is looking to forget the past and start a new future. So they move on and get married that same day.
The beginning of the film moves along at a snails pace. For the first half an hour, nothing happened. They met, they married, they had sex, in which we get to see lots of Jolie and her ample bosom, but it was actually quite boring. Then something wonderful happens. We find out that Jolie is not who she says she is and she has taken all of his money and left him, penniless and heart broken. Now I was intrigued and for the next half an hour we get to see the deception involved. Banderas goes to Havana to find her with the help of a detective from the U.S. and low and behold, he finds her in Havana. They make up and then get back together and then the real deceit begins.
Original Sin is good when there are elements of surprise flanking the story but incredibly mundane when they are telling the rest of the tale. There are two many shots of Jolies' lips and to agree with some of the other reviewers in here, the editting in the film was bothersome and annoying. I don't know why they would edit it that way except to think that they did it because it is like they were editting it the way someone tells a story, with deliberate breaks and rebeginnings. Sort of like..." and then she did this" "and then he came to her" and so on. But the editting process was not at all done properly and no matter what effect they were going for, it failed miserably.
Finally we get to the end where it makes the film sort of misunderstood, at least by me. I couldn't understand what they were trying to tell the audience, and they were clearly talking to the audience as they looked straight into the camera and told their tale. It reminded me a bit of The Usual Suspects in the sense that you are wondering if this was a story all told from the two leads point of view, therefore never knowing what was real and what was a fabrication.
Original Sin is not a terrible film, it isn't a great film. It is a little murky and if that is what they were going for then they succeeded beautifully. I wouldn't want to see it again, even though there are many unanswered questions. It was just too... strange.
6 out of 10-- Not something you want to spend your money on in the summer time. Bring on American Pie 2!!