Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

JohnLeeT Single handedly, the "actor" Eddie Redmayne destroyed a so-so adaptation of a wonderful novel by giving a wooden, stiff, and even gross performance. He must be the most repellent "leading man" in the history of film. Of course, the script, direction, and ridiculous set design gave him a big boost in turning this into incredible junk, but it was Redmayne who was so completely unsuited to his role and who caused many to turn away in disgust with his fish-like kisses during the love scenes. These were crucial to the story and he made them repulsive beyond all comprehension. The rest of the cast was good but they were up against a brick wall with Redmayne. Of all the actors available in the UK, excellent actors with charisma and a bit of sex appeal, why was this weird, sexless person cast in the pivotal role? If the creative team behind this disaster set out to make a film that would be a complete failure, they couldn't have succeeded much more effectively. It isn't simply bad, it's terrible, and they had to do this to one of the most popular and moving novels ever published in Great Britain. Couldn't they find something less important to stick this lackluster and stomach turning "star" in?

spheckma If you've read the book you may be one of those people who get it set in their mind 'as the book' and can't move beyond it, but the book is one thing and the movie another and if you've the ability to consider the worth of both then I believe you'll find value in both. In this review I deal with the movie as I loved the visuals of all of it from the setting of beautiful scenes with lush costuming and sets were magnificent. The costumes thought out each scene to the Nth degree in that they almost told a story them self. Eddie Redmayne costumes suit the scenes of the love story when the love story needs to have a special feel as do all the most extraordinary dress and skirts and blouses of Clémence Poésy. In addition she had a delicate beauty that was perfect for the role while Marie-Josée Croze was perfect as her not the not so beautiful sister, but never-the-less possessed her own sort of beauty with the need element of strength. The was scene were everything you'd expect of war in WWI in trenches that were literally a few feet apart with all the gore and horror and fear you'd expect. Also, the costuming there was amazing as it wasn't exact, as it wouldn't have been under the circumstances, but for the most part it was nearly as perfect as I'd want. Now I'd like to take a step back and talk about Eddie Redmayne. I'd not heard of him until I saw the name attached to the actor who would play Marius in the upcoming version of 'Les Mis'so I looked him up, found a movie he was in to watch and came away from seeing it wondering why him in either this story or in Les Mis. Suffice it to say he does not have you classical good looks. BUT, after watching the BBC version of 'Birdsong' he won me over. He is one outstanding actor, with the unbelievable subtle expression he makes using not only his entire face, but just his eyes alone. He was, simply put, beyond belief and will be perfect as Marius, but back to his playing Stephen Wraysford. He play the full range of the character to perfection. I even found myself finding him a beautiful man even though not typically so ... All things considered it may not be a perfect copy of the book, but it stands on its own and that's what counts.

potter34 Let me start by saying we love just about everything on Masterpiece. We also rent a lot of British mysteries, dramas, and especially period pieces from Netflix. Our main complaint is that the male lead in Birdsong is quite possibly the most wooden and boring acting we've ever seen. Just awful. The female lead is also pretty wooden and her performance is even worse than when she appeared in Gossip Girl. I have nothing good to say about this show except the outfits were pretty.We expect quality from Masterpiece and this sure did not measure up! You'd be better off watching repeats of Poirot or Foyle's War.

steven-222 This movie has fine production values, good actors, moving music...but the love story left me cold. There is zero chemistry between the lovers, and its seems a cheat to make her (otherwise quite desirable) husband impotent.More to the point...what was the point? After showing us just how miserable WWI was, and how degraded human institutions are (sending young men to die horribly for no good reason), and how pointless love and human relationships are, because life leads inevitably to suffering and death...our transcendent ending comes with the revelation that a child has been born--so hooray, the cycle of misery can just go on and on. This is the standard "uplifting" ending to many a novel and movie, but for me, it just won't cut it any more. The "miracle" of progeny is the exact opposite, no miracle at all but one of the most common things in the world. Two people screwed and created a baby. Big deal.I respect the integrity and the ambitious nature of this movie--but only up to a point. If you want to bite off a really big theme (human futility), you'll have to take me somewhere else. Making a baby merely plays the hand dealt to us by the Selfish Gene, our only true lord and master. It's not a solution or a resolution to anything, not even a made-up story.