Used to be rabbit ears pulled in tv channels, now they are a coveted culinary delicacy. If nothing else, one always learns something from an Atom Egoyan film.
Consistently fine thespian David Thewlis as a complicated health inspector, carries "Guest of Honour" with the calm assurance, refined decorum, and meticulous deduction of Sherlock Holmes. Yet it is he who is the mystery. And as wonderful a performance it is (he really does carry the movie), the convoluted and twisty plot proves too benign and lacking, to do justice to foreshadowed expectations.
A forgettable and perplexing storyline involving his jailed daughter is awkwardly distracting at best, and out and out messy at worst. Slipping in a comedic Wilson brother (Luke) as a serious priest is admirable, but alas, serves to sabotage the dramatic flow.
Too bad, as the movie does indeed look great, and Thewlis is excellent, a commanding screen presence, delivering a perfectly nuanced role lacking a worthy supporting cast, and more importantly, a superior written vehicle.
Consistently fine thespian David Thewlis as a complicated health inspector, carries "Guest of Honour" with the calm assurance, refined decorum, and meticulous deduction of Sherlock Holmes. Yet it is he who is the mystery. And as wonderful a performance it is (he really does carry the movie), the convoluted and twisty plot proves too benign and lacking, to do justice to foreshadowed expectations.
A forgettable and perplexing storyline involving his jailed daughter is awkwardly distracting at best, and out and out messy at worst. Slipping in a comedic Wilson brother (Luke) as a serious priest is admirable, but alas, serves to sabotage the dramatic flow.
Too bad, as the movie does indeed look great, and Thewlis is excellent, a commanding screen presence, delivering a perfectly nuanced role lacking a worthy supporting cast, and more importantly, a superior written vehicle.
- hipCRANK