Reviews

"Then She Found Me" is an insult to the intelligence. At least with the "American Pie" and "Saw" franchises you know what you're in for. A cast like this leads one to expect some degree of quality -- or at least coherence. Wrong! Helen Hunt is an unsmiling, self-absorbed, masochistically willing victim. Matthew Broderick is meant to be a feckless Peter Pan but doesn't convey a scintilla of that. Bette Midler is woefully miscast in a role that completely ignores her comedic and dramatic talents. Colin Firth's character -- also grumpy and funereal in demeanor -- acts and reacts entirely without plausible motivation. John Benjamin Hickey flits around enigmatically like some latter-day Tinker Bell. It's as if all the characters were just put in front of the camera without directorial discussion of the movie's message, plot or intent. I'm not sure it's fair to blame Hunt (as director) because the screenplay is unrelievedly lousy. Not only is it poorly plotted, the "cute" dialog is in fact just plain dumb. This film will appeal only to those willing to suspend even subatomic levels of disbelief.

The film is billed as loosely based on "Hamlet," and loose is the operative word, but that is the movie's strength: it's not just another production of Shakespeare's play in modern dress or a non-Danish setting. Each of the main characters has an antecedent in "Hamlet," but most have a different backstory. Interestingly, the focus in "The Banquet" is not on Hamlet but on the queen, who in this screenplay is both his former girlfriend and his stepmother. She is superbly played by the beautiful Zhang Zivi.

The action is indeed slow, but in my opinion, deliciously so. The director adheres to the current Chinese mania for slo-mo kung fu style fight scenes--and there are many in "The Banquet"--but their choreography is artfully balletic.

I thought the plot was intrinsically effective, but even if you don't agree, you'll have to admit that it's an intriguing twist on Shakespeare's story. Plot aside, I can't imagine anyone's not being enthralled by the film's visual splendor: scenery, costumes, choreography, cinematography,even the actors--all are stunning. The director, Feng Xiaogang, has out-Jiang Yimoued Jiang Yimou. If you liked "Crouching Tiger," "House of Flying Daggers," etc., you will LOVE "The Banquet."