Review of Amour (2012) by Jillian L — 21 Feb 2013

So, I'm in a weird place with this one. Let's start with the positives. The acting is fantastic. The chemistry between Emmanuelle Riva and Jean-Louis Trintignant is undeniable. The two of them carry this movie, in every way.

Unfortunately, I found basically everything else in this movie somewhat boring and stagnant. The plot is essentially episodic, which could work, if there was some editing done and about 1/4th of the scenes knocked out.

There were scenes that simply did not make any sense, or did not contribute to the movie whatsoever. I also found the cinematography really stagnant. I'm all for long, continuing shots, but when the scene is going on for quite some time and there is literally no movement and I'm seeing the back of one actor and the profile of another, I begin to check out.

Overall, while parts of this movie are beautiful, at the end of it, I was depressed and acutely aware of my mortality. While I appreciate that as a form of artistic expression, I don't know if that's how I want to feel after watching a movie.