Review of Romance & Cigarettes (2005) by David U — 26 Mar 2006

[font=Trebuchet MS][[b]Short Thought: [/b]This is a movie that desperately wants to be unique and outlandish, but, not only have it's musical stylings been done already (see [i]Moulin Rouge![/i]), but it has no courage in it's convictions: it plays the original tracks too loudly over the cast's attempts to sing, as if it knows they can't (and we know that at least Kate Winslet can, and well). A couple of dazzling turns from Winslet, as a foul-mouthed, Northern English, red-headed temptress, and Christopher Walken, as an Elvis-lookalike cousin, almost make the entire thing worthwhile, but both they and indeed the entire cast feel under-used- even Susan Sarandon, on screen for longer than she's been given in years, seems badly utilized. Ultimately, it feels like a very uncomfortable mixture of bad tv drama, fantastic musical tracks and a soap-opera from Yorkshire.].

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[font=Trebuchet MS]Full review to come.[/font].