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1.) Michael Keaton and if you know him, Ray McKinnon who produced the 'Rectify' series, one of the best series I have ever seen on 'TV'. Michael Keaton stars and directs the film and let me tell you think you know where the plot is taking you and you see what you think are some obvious inconsistencies. You will be stunned by how well the plot is actually thought out. The contradictions in the main characters , father, son and how their lives become parallel in most unlikely of ways and all because of , what ? Contingency. The script or story is absolutely brilliant and it is executed in the most artistic way possible and ,as always you will find yourself haunted by Keaton's character and delivery. The movie is truly special and FEW movies produced today rise to this level of excellence, Story, concept and narrative and you don't know where you're going to till you get there, ironic, poignant and above all a wholly satisfying movie experience. Eight Stars and I rarely give more than seven and that's for movies I think are really good, this is a cut above.

What is a critical review ? One that judges a movie . . . Solely . . . On its merits . . . And . . . Not on what you imagined or expected the movie to be based on who made it . .. and . . . The movies the 'producer' made in the past. The past . Is it entertaining ? Holds your attention ? Delivers humor , good acting and , in this case a ' punch line ' that is 1) really funny and 2) you did not see coming.

Don't compare the movie to 'your standards' or expectations. This movie is delightful thanks to a really funny , on topic , current script. Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan could not have been better cast in their respective roles. And the movie is full of laughs , outlandish ? Yes . Suspend your disbelief , yes. Entertaining and funny ? Yes. 'Political' yes. I, unlike other reviewers of this film found it satisfying even though it was not until I saw the last 20 minutes of the movie. Pan some of the 'critical' reviews here because they don't take the movie for what it is, a very funny, entertaining movie that was never meant to be 'high cinematic art' but merely a bit of comic fun that pokes fun at the high and mighty hypocritical leaders of our society without being preachy about it. A definite watch IMO.

IMO the movie has everything a movie should have : an interesting story , action but only to carry the story along , really high end production values , stunning locations and great acting to be sure. The movie was certainly better than I expected it to be and also not quite what I expected. It is a close look at Enzo Ferrari's life and I could not say how accurate it is which for me is beside the point. What I want is a movie that engages my senses and my mind for the duration and this movie delivers in both departments. I am, frankly, surprised it does not have a higher rating on IMDb and hasn't done better at the box office. While this certainly not a 'low budget' picture it is far better than a recent(think biopic) offering that cost more than two times as much. I recommend this movie without reservation, one for the ages ? No, . . . Worth seeing ?

Entertaining ? , well made ? Yes to all three.

I gave the film six stars based on Bradley Cooper's 'impersonation' of Berstein and Carey Mulligans acting . . . Which . . . Never disappoints. The whole movie is a series of Berstein's personal entanglements and his affairs and interest in men with little or no attention paid to the man's genius. How about 'West Side Story' ? , no hint of that. How about the television , ' The Young People's Guide to the Orchestra' ? , sorry , not there. Another Netflix need for content ; if not a colossal waste of money and talent, then a very substantial one. Is it worth seeing ? Is it a total disappointment ? Yes and no. But to see such a worthy subject rendered so superficially is unfortunate AND another wasted opportunity to make a great movie , which we always desperately need, and turn it something Ho Hum.

Let me start out by praising the movie. The characters are well developed and believable and that is true from the first moments of the film until the conclusion. The acting by Ann Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie is quite simply of the highest caliber ; they nail the characters they are portraying. The locations and 'art direction' are every bit as good as qualities I reference above. You will be drawn into the movie from its beginning and you're never quite sure where it's going. The ending will disappoint many and I guess I too was disappointed at the end but to be fair the script is taken from a novel. The film is expertly executed in every phase of the filmmakers art, I don't think that can be disputed but for those that what all the loose ends tied up or a conclusive ending, they will find the film unsatisfying. I can tell you this; I would be pleased if only half the movies I go to see were as well done as 'Eileen' and I think the movie will stay with you and make you think. It was only then, after I had seen it and digested it that I fully appreciated the full quality of the film. Post Script : my partner pointed out some details in the film the subtlety of which I did not pick up on which if you get them will only make the film better in my estimation.

I read some reviews here on IMDb before seeing the movie and considered the various criticisms of the movie: it did not follow actual history closely enough, too much about Josephine in the script , etcetera , etcetera and I concluded that the people reviewing the film just did not get the movie they wanted. In other words they had preconceptions as did I. Ridley Scott, $200 million dollar budget, a credible stable of actors ; some big name talent at that AND the movie , about Napoleon, would be epic. I saw the trailers and thought the movie had to be good and looked forward to seeing it. I was, dear reader , dead wrong. The script is either rambling or worse ; incoherent such that one wonders whether the script and the pictures are from the same movie. The acting is wooden and the dialogue , as I note above , stilted. Look at my reviews , I don't give movies four stars if I bother to review them at all. Consider this one(review) a public service. This is what happens when big tech, namely Apple which has more money than it knows what to do with, throws money at a studio and director without actually considering how the finished product will turn out. Maybe much of the movie was generated by artificial intelligence, who knows? Human intelligence is in order here which requires that this movie die a quick death at the box office, I expect it will. What is epic here is how unredeemable this movie is.

Apple should Stick to what it does know how to do and manufacture overpriced phones in authoritarian countries instead of green lighting a $200 million budget for a film ABOUT an authoritarian. Remember the movie, 'Less Than Zero' with Robert Downey Jr and James Spader ? This movie is , to paraphrase that title Worse Than Bad.

For those who know what it is to 'short a stock' ( in other words to bet against ) , the Hollywood studio moguls would have shorted this movie if it were a stock . . . And . . . Yet it won The Palm D'or ( best picture ) at the Cannes Film Festival. There are now fewer opportunities to see movies like this, since the 'Art House' theaters are no more: foreign with subtitles , serious subject . . . And . . . Drama with no gimmicks. The acting , script and narrative arc are a marvel to behold. I can tell you this , as the movie went along I became more engaged as it built to climax without ever being clumsy or stilted. If you like your loose ends tied up , stay away. The film is courtroom drama , sort of murder mystery but really about the difficulties we all face in human relationships, more I cannot say except I would not have wanted to miss this one and , trust me , it won't be in theaters for long , while it may lack 'mass appeal' it will satisfy anyone who appreciates good cinema of which there is so little these days.

The movie is almost an Eight Star Movie, forget the trailer and see the movie. It is about what it is like to be getting older and not always being taken seriously and the alien is just a vehicle to tell that story.

I really didn't think I would like it but my partner wanted to see it and I was really glad that we saw it together. Ben Kingsley is , as always focused and believable what ever character he is playing and the the supporting cast are stand up as well. I was truly moved and touched by the story being told and that's the thing; the movie is so well conceived and executed that is does not disappoint. I was, most definitely, pleasantly surprised by how good this movie is, very entertaining.

This film exceeded all of my expectations A N D I was looking forward to seeing it. I wonder about any parents who might bring their children to see it expecting something quite different from what this film is. One hour fifty four minutes of fun from beginning to end. Satire, sarcasm , humor at every turn. Production values and acting off the charts good. I can't believe Mattel let them make the movie with complete artistic freedom. Think of Nicole Kidman in the AMC promo before a movie starts and says, " Somehow heartbreak feels good in a place like this ". Well somehow watching a silly spoof like this movie feels great all the way through and even afterwards. I loved it and I am not surprised at the huge box office , this movie rocks.

Every character well developed and human, not cookie cutter 'cut outs' or stereotyped by race, religion or profession. Attention to detail in every respect IE the images are stunning . Production design , IE sequence of events and the acting and direction could not be better. Oh . . . A script developed by the Film MakeR from . . . A . . . BooK ; in other words good writing. Human drama taken from real life can be more dramatic and interesting than fictional scripts. IMO the film is 1) a stunning achievement and 2) very much worth the three hour length to see it. You won't find yourself saying , 'this movie is too long' as so many are these days. My one warning and criticism is that in some scenes the dialogue is not even intelligible due to so much other sound in the back round. Highly recommended otherwise.

And please , as always , remember to ignore the 'one and done' 'reviewers' here.

Absolutely compelled to review this offering from HBO/Max. An ambitious concept to make a movie almost entirely from the transcript of a recording of a/the actual event. Where or how did the film maker get the transcript to make this movie ? And then as the film unfolds I found myself captivated by the dialogue AND the performance rendered by the actors in this 'docudrama' . Trust me that may be the genre but it is so much more than anything that might be pigeonholed in that genre. Look whether it is 'accurate' or not you really feel like you are right there in the midst of a human drama where someone who has made a mistake watches their life being changed forever. I personally cannot find ANY fault with this film . I was thrilled to watch something so well made and give it the highest recommendation I could give to it. And parenthetically , a word to any who comes here for reviews : click on the reviewers link and if there only a couple of reviews , take them for what they are worth, you, dear reader, decide for yourself.

It's not Law and Order but it is taken from actual events which you might not believe until you see the credits. It is one of those series that sucks you in from the very start a n d does not disappoint. For reference if you have seen it ,Under the Banner of Heaven would be a good comparison and that series was just as good as this one. Elizabeth Olsen will just blow you away with the way she just becomes the character. The writing, acting and direction and performances are absolute top notch. Ask yourself how much time and effort do you put into finding 'content' worth watching ?

HBO, now MAX ,doesn't drop a complete series all at once which I didn't realize when I first started watching this one and when I had to wait for the next episode, I couldn't wait.

This movie demanded a rating and a review from me ; that is how good it is. You to to the movies hoping to see something this well made and feel lucky if you get that result.

I Came out of the theater feeling so glad that I saw it. The first thing you have to say is that this is storytelling at its absolute best.

In the beginning a few scenes seem bit strained but because of the acting and direction the movie just gets better and better and without spoiling anything , you think you know what's going on but you don't which makes for a surprising plot twist at the end.

I am not black but this movie feels genuine and authentic in the way ' Emily the Criminal ' did. This movie would not have been made without ' independent funding ' : no studio movie this and no big budget or gimmicks, just great acting, story telling , concept and direction. Certain to be picked up by a streaming platform cuz maybe the the content they finance and produce will never come close to the quality of 'A Thousand and One '

First of all , the movie is too long by a half an hour secondly many of the scenes are so poorly lit they may as well be in black and white. And while I am criticizing the movie on what are minor points; once you watch this movie you will experience how good it is. We went to the theater to see this movie because it was the only option except for the movie 'Living' which seems so much like a tired cliche' and Bill Nighy always comes across as the same character no matter what character he plays and so I was not expecting much from this film either. The movie delivers on so many levels, character development, story, drama and emotional tension without being contrived. Emma Mackey is brilliant throughout and it is her acting and the story and direction that will draw you right into the film without ever letting you go. 'Emily' the film stands on its own and does not lend itself to being pigeonholed. I thought this was something like the fare you might see on PBS; far from it and far better.

It was so satisfying and refreshing to see a movie which , in every aspect, acting, story, direction, character development, and narrative thread , was so well conceived and made. It will conjure in you the complete range of human emotion. It explores how humans are to deal with loss and it (the film) is universal in the way it is dealt with.

I figured if a French subtitled movie makes to main stream theaters in the U. S. It has to be good. Well I can't say when I last saw movie as good as this one. I am not some sort of snob but this movie makes you feel like film making has become a lost art here in the states. I am sure it isn't . . . But . . . Getting funding for a movie such as this is quite a hill to climb.

My partner and I walked out after an hour. It is almost always a mistake to wait for a film to get interesting or 'good' , this one is at no point worth watching .Charlotte Rampling is, of course, good but she can't make a good movie from an implausible, stupid script. It is indeed beneath her talents , way beneath. The characters never come alive and nothing could animate them except a completely different 'project'. Watching it made me cringe at how utterly her talents AND my time were wasted.

Why do I need 600 or more characters when there are so many 'one and done' trolls posting reviews here.

As in why did this movie get made or how could it fall apart so completely AND abruptly ? 1.) script from a novel; good 2.) Christian Bale and Gillian Anderson among an otherwise notable cast ; good 3) great locations and cinematography; great. So I was looked forward to watching this movie and really liked and enjoyed it for the first hour and a half at which point the story devolves into something so stupid that the movie at that moment falls flat on its face. My take : Netflix throwing money at something just to have "fresh" content exclusive to themselves. We are all searching content worthy of our time and attention; this movie is worthy of neither.

I refer you to the review by Xstal , the most helpful review of this movie by vote tally and sums up my impression of, and reactions to, the movie.

Well then , decadence, depravity, indifference ? Arrogance certainly ; a fitting description of the idle rich and more specifically Anglo American entitlement. In our world Arabs don't count and this is not some 'woke' sort of trope put forth by the film maker. The plot is interesting; drama results as the movie unspools, some scenes and dialogue don't feel all that natural BUT some are spot on, funny and biting at the same time. Characters are well thought out and locations and cinematography are, dare I say , epic. If you miss this movie you will miss a performance by Ralph Fiennes that 1) could not be improved upon and 2) makes his character come alive and seem as real as if you were in the room with him.

I gave the movie a six star review . . .despite . . . Some great drama and acting by all of the main characters, the first hour is ho hum and the dialogue is not well written; it just doesn't engage you. It is only after 'Sam' is portrayed as a teenager that you get some real dramatic tension. With that said the movie is not well woven together, it does not follow a coherent narrative arc, IE why is this scene, dialogue , character even in the movie ?Some of the acting is strained and predictable at best and at other times just plain awkward. The truly good parts of the movie is where there is no dialogue and and the story and emotion is conveyed visually. Bottom line, an auto biography that is easily an hour too long and so much should have been edited . . . Out. I liked the movie, am glad I saw it but no Oscars for this one and certainly not up to Spielberg's best work , too predictable , and hackneyed.

After reading another negative review here I can't add much to it but this movie 1) full of tropes that did not even carry the story along AND the acting was wooden and the dialogue was strained, it was like watching an elementary school play where the players had never acted a role on stage before and were delivering their lines from a piece of paper or a teleprompter and that wouldn't matter because the script , the writing, is so bad , predictable and cliched. My partner turned to me , about 60 minutes in , and asked what I thought and I was so relieved when she said she was bored and was happy to leave. I have not walked out on a movie since I don't know when and have not rated a movie this low in some time. Anne Hathaway, Anthony Hopkins , both with acceptable performances but don't be fooled , I doubt even they would sit through this movie without walking out.

You will immediately find yourself thinking of other movies you've seen and I will leave that up to you. The execution of 'special effects' is truly , extremely well done and captivating. You can't help but be wrapped up in the characters, esp Eva played by Alicia Vikander. Thing is, people want so many things in a movie and they may be disappointed but I wasn't because there is genuine drama and a substantial script. You are really unsure of what this cyborg is or if it actually feels anything, the classic plot line of can this artificial creation 'feel' anything. You won't be sure until you see the conclusion which is chilling to say the least. Maybe not the cult classic but a fine movie nonetheless.

. . . this is a movie for you to see. The movie is at times incoherent, ambiguous and confusing ,and so , in this respect, like real life, a feature not a bug. The film left me wondering what I had just seen and what, if anything, the meaning of it was. What I believe is that there is so much in the film that is left to the viewers interpretation ; kind of a Rorschach test, that people will form different impressions of the film. It certainly satirizes (IMO) the modern day notion that one can control every aspect of their lives with gadgets that measure everything from your heartbeat, calories burned , blood pressure and sleep quality, spoiler you can't and some of us live with, believe in that illusion. ' kind of like the fifties which is the setting for nearly all of the movie. Suffice it to say the film is about conformity and devotion to an almost cult like existence , sound familiar ? Apple devotees ,Under Armour ,gluten free food (Vodka for Christ's sake) and organic food. The movie is existential to the bloody hilt and you may not feel 'satisfied' after you have seen it but you will know you saw something and BTW the Busby Berkeley visual effects are wonderful , nostalgic and a pleasant reminder of the bygone days of Big Budget Hollywood films, you see; the film has everything, just not what you might be expecting.

The plot takes many twists and turns and may I say that Mark Rylance has been in some mediocre movies BUT he is one of the best actors working today IMO. The entire movie takes place in one 'set' and is taut every step of the way. As another reviewer has noted the script requires you suspend your disbelief and there is ONE serious inconsistency which will be apparent to most viewers. But I loved the main characters narration taking place apart from the dialogue. It is arguably Shakespearean. I recommend you watch the first ten minutes and see if you're not totally engaged in the writing and the acting. A pleasant surprise on one of the streaming platforms, would love to see more half as good as this was.

This is a 'Hallmark Movie' which does not disqualify it from being a movie to see and enjoy. The acting by the significant characters is either good or adequate, the locations and art direction are up to snuff and the actor who plays the adolescent girl , Beau Gadson , is really outstanding. The script is just plain schmaltzy at every turn and I found my self groaning at how lame this movie really is and I write this review to dissuade anyone who even likes this sort of fare from wasting their precious time and money going to the theater to see it. If you streamed it at home I doubt very much if you would get through the first half hour. If this seems harsh , I don't usually review movies I don't like that much unless they have some redeeming qualities and other than what I note above , this movie has none.

The acting , direction , and story are all very good even great at times. The child's story and just as important the child actor playing the role are both subtly done and engaging to watch. The film does not fall apart but it is not as seamless as it easily could have been HAD the film been edited with a bit more force, in other words leave out some of the scenes and storylines that feel cliched , Hallmark like. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie. Justin Timberlake has some real acting chops and his female supporting actress Alisha Wainwright is no less gifted. The child's story and and portrayal seemed very realistic to me , as though it comes from real life experience and not just put out here because it's topical right now. Recommend without reservation despite my six star review.