BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

HottWwjdIam There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

maxelllouis One of the well made film ever. if you want a funny as F movie, here this is.

invaderJim I really enjoyed this film. I'm not a Roman Polanski fan. And I'm not particularly a fan of any member of the cast. But it all came together wonderfully. The film oscillates between bizarre, hysterical, and maddening, just as the characters do. Each has their turn as the voice of reason, as the child, as the higher ground and the low. Often the characters will represent the holy and the profane in the same breath. It's a valuable lesson in humanity. Even at our lowest, we are constantly aware of the highest of our values, and constantly altering our behavior because of it. It's when we break down and abandon all of our social mores that we really show ourselves, and while it may not be pretty, at least the movie manages to make it funny! The movie's technicality is also a plus. It manages to feel like a play and a film at just the right intervals to avoid distraction from the characters and the degeneration (or progression, depending on your outlook) of their interaction. Admittedly, it was almost cheating. The film basically brags about its resemblance to The Exterminating Angel. At one point a character even says "No one is forcing you to stay". But if you're going to steal, steal from the best.

rogerdarlington I have never seen a film that looked so much like a play. Of course, it was originally a play written by the French Yasmina Reza but, even as a play, it is a story limited in time and space. Essentially the narrative is in real time (80 minutes) and, except for the opening and closing credits, all the action is set in a New York apartment (although all the shooting was in France under the direction of Polish Roman Polanski). And they are only four characters: two American couples played by John C Reilly & Jodie Foster and (Austrian) Christoph Waltz and (British) Kate Winslet. So, if you only like action movies, this is not for you.But where the film scores is with the cracking script, the fine acting and the shifting alliances: at first, the two couples trying to be co-operative in discussing a fight between their sons; then the couples taking sides in support of their respective off- spring; next each husband and wife in conflict with one another; eventually the men and women forming gender coalitions. More and more, we are reminded that the veneer of civility is so thin that it can be torn open by an argument, a word, a gesture. As one character puts it: "I believe in the god of carnage. The god whose rule's been unchallenged since time immemorial."

braddugg A movie that's a must watch for it's sheer stupidity that has a point of it's own. Yeah, at times you may feel the whole thing absurd and at the end you may confirm yourself that the whole movie is absurd too, but I thought this to be a more meaningful cinema and it's pure fun. You can't just lock parents over their children's act and then take it head on to reveal how childish the parents are, and how mature their kids are. Nothing is explicitly shown and nothing is elaborated, but yet in a few glimpses or frames, we can make out each character, and that's what it is so essential. For a writing to be called good, it has to be remembered by it's characters and their lines and that's what exactly this film does. Based on a play by Yasmina Reza, who has done a stupendous job in writing, Roman Polanski has tried effectively in depicting the emotions and what had each character been through. Even a tiny phone conversation that is actually so digressive becomes very important. Yes, its easy to remember each character coz they are just four. Tied up in an apartment where a hall, a kitchen or even bathroom become such important locations now. In Nearly 75 minutes of the length, the film could have gone anywhere but it ends at a point after which everything else seems pointless. How ever they may crib about each other, each character is unique and has his or her own misgivings. One has insecurity complex, one has cunningness to hide things, one is very upset due to her deeds, the other is so because he is not doing what he wants to. So in all it's absurdity too it has a meaning so very underplayed that by the end, all seems so meaningful then. The kids patch up so very easily than the parents, who bring their egos to everything they can and just cannot let their egos go. I am so happy to have watched this, and thanks to Roman Polanski to undertake this play and turn it to a cinema that is subtle, underplayed but the end is very warming and overwhelming. A 4/5 for a film that says "with minimum of things, you can still tell a very important story". This is the kind of film even I would love to be a part of.