Finally, FINALLY got around to seeing the movie that brought Paul Newman his only competitive Oscar. It's definitely Scorsese-lite, but it goes down awfully smoothly.
Is it Newman's best performance? Hardly. But when was the last time anyone won an Oscar for the best performance of their career? Let's face it, Newman won his gold in this film for pure charisma, which he has so much it almost feels like it should be illegal. But we have to give Tom Cruise his due, because he's got it too. I don't even like Cruise that much as an actor, but when he's in the right role even I have to concede that he's magnetic, and this movie gives him the right kind of role. The third principal part goes to Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and that's where the movie makes its biggest stumble. She's a fine actress in her own right, and you can practically feel her chomping at the bit to tear into a juicy role, but the film lets her down by giving her a thankless character who exists almost exclusively to be a sexual object for the men around her. There's a reason Scorsese's movies most always been focused on male worlds.
The Academy apparently had the hots for Mastrantonio too, because they threw her a Best Supporting Actress nomination despite having a nothing character to play. The film also scored noms for Best Adapted Screenplay and for Best Art Direction, which I believe famed production designer Boris Leven received posthumously.
Grade: A-
Is it Newman's best performance? Hardly. But when was the last time anyone won an Oscar for the best performance of their career? Let's face it, Newman won his gold in this film for pure charisma, which he has so much it almost feels like it should be illegal. But we have to give Tom Cruise his due, because he's got it too. I don't even like Cruise that much as an actor, but when he's in the right role even I have to concede that he's magnetic, and this movie gives him the right kind of role. The third principal part goes to Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and that's where the movie makes its biggest stumble. She's a fine actress in her own right, and you can practically feel her chomping at the bit to tear into a juicy role, but the film lets her down by giving her a thankless character who exists almost exclusively to be a sexual object for the men around her. There's a reason Scorsese's movies most always been focused on male worlds.
The Academy apparently had the hots for Mastrantonio too, because they threw her a Best Supporting Actress nomination despite having a nothing character to play. The film also scored noms for Best Adapted Screenplay and for Best Art Direction, which I believe famed production designer Boris Leven received posthumously.
Grade: A-