Review of Contempt (1963) by Pascal V — 05 Dec 2010
I was excited for Contempt. From the little literature I had read about it, it was a wonderful exemplification of the "movies about movies" subgenre, complete with plenty of philosophy from Godard.
Instead, it turned out to have twenty decent minutes of cinematic intrigue, with the remaining hour and a half simply an immensely dull plot of a degenerating relationship, something that has been done countless other times, even by Godard himself.
What's missing is characterization: there is no development, no idiosyncrasy in the man and the woman, and there is no chemistry, even negative chemistry between them. That, and the maddening repetition of the same string soundtrack at inopportune times, and the truly laughable conclusion.
Thus the majority of the film is null and void, a waste of time, when you can see something more exuberant and original, like Breathless or almost anything else. Disappointing.
This review of Contempt (1963) was written by Pascal V on 05 Dec 2010.
Contempt has generally received very positive reviews.
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