Review of Out of Africa (1985) by Kim M — 06 Apr 2011

This is one of those gather-round-the-TV-set-now-family dramas that conveys nothing except "Golly gee williguns, aren't we a nice family for sitting around and watching this together?" Thank Jesus this era of filmmaking has passed. An overlong, over-milked, shallow period epic shot on 1980s video equipment, marketing white male guilt in the most inconsequential way possible (this one beat the somewhat less tame The Color Purple to the Oscar). It also marks the period in Meryl Streep's acting career when she stood on the line that separates naturalism and overacting. (She has since sprinted without so much as a glance back to the latter.) A lot of praise is lavished on the cinematography; while shots are in fact set up well, the 1980s-ness of the production destroys it: the transfer is flat and lacks color and life.

Roger Ebert is blind, deaf, and retarded.