Review of Breaking the Waves (2014) by Andrew B — 02 Oct 2009
Emily Watson shines in this poorly conceived but very well-directed film. There is a great deal of emotion floating around but unfortunately the characters have a hard time putting it into place. Bess' character is initially interesting but becomes increasingly frustrating as the film progresses, being that her fragile psychological state leading her to making ludicrous decisions make her incredibly hard to relate to.
The main flaws I think lie in the writing, as Lars Von Trier does a good job of recognizing the social conflicts between the characters but doesn't seem to bridge the emotional gap between this and the viewer (at least I didn't buy it).
In the end he presses for a transcendental conclusion which only partially makes up for the sloppy presentation of what should have been more endearing characters. It's not a bad film, but seeing that I consider myself a fan of Von Trier and considering all the praise I heard for this film I was quite disappointed.
This review of Breaking the Waves (2014) was written by Andrew B on 02 Oct 2009.
Breaking the Waves has generally received positive reviews.
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