A plot that deviates from a deep theme

Clay 2022-04-21 08:01:07

Whether the theme is deep or not is not the fundamental measure of a good movie, at least it is far from a sufficient condition. A good film is to use the lens to express the theme idea naturally and smoothly in the development of a reasonable plot. And I personally think that the use of lens language in this film is rather bad, a lot of hysterical close-ups and even useless pictures. The development of the plot is even more apparently lacking in rationality, making the so-called profundity a pretentiousness. If the script were modified, it could have been made into a wonderful film.
The only star is for Tim Robbins, and his personal performance is still wonderful under such a bad director.

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Extended Reading

Arlington Road quotes

  • Michael Faraday: You can't ask government to be infallible, but you can ask it to be accountable.

    Oliver Lang: I can ask it to be honest.

    Michael Faraday: You know, when Leah died, all I wanted was someone to tell me, "We made a mistake." You know? "We made a mistake. Your wife suffered for it, and we'd take it back a hundred times if we could." But they don't say that. She would've.

  • Michael Faraday: You're killing children!

    Oliver Lang: Their lies, their children.

    Michael Faraday: Children die!

    Oliver Lang: This is war. In a war, children die.