This film left me puzzled. What was the reason for the strange scene setup? Why not just present the movie in straight chronological order instead of telling the story by rather far-fetched flashbacks? The main story line is derived from a flashback that lasts for half the duration of the entire film!
The story of film inventor Friese-Greene is told mainly from the viewpoint of his two successive wives, starting with his later wife. The film starts off when Friese-Greene is already approaching the end of his life when he visits his wife who has separated him. From then on, she begins to tell about the time she lived with him (when he already had put his invention into practice). By now, Friese-Greene was a bankrupt debtor who vainly tries to expand and innovate his cinematic ambitions and we see how he brings his family along with him in his downfall.
The second part of the movie focuses on the start of his career as a photographer and his gradual success in creating the moving picture. This is the most intriguing part of the movie, where we witness the birth of a new era. However, it is regrettable that we already know what is going to come of our hero; this way all that we observe somehow leaves us with a bitter aftertaste. And it detracts from the overall 'suspense'.
I guess that the main reason for this awkward order of life events is the fact that the interlude between the death of his first wife and his meeting his second is left undone. And this is unforgivable because this is also the period Friese-Greene brought his new invention to public attention. The recurring attention at his failed recognition lies in this period; also it would be nice to see how this totally new experience took place.
What we are left with is a tolerable movie about a man who is blind with ambition and therefore also blind to the people who love him and the people who he is indebted to. The acting, camera work and soundtrack are all fine. As said, the major setback is the screenplay: deplorable.
The story of film inventor Friese-Greene is told mainly from the viewpoint of his two successive wives, starting with his later wife. The film starts off when Friese-Greene is already approaching the end of his life when he visits his wife who has separated him. From then on, she begins to tell about the time she lived with him (when he already had put his invention into practice). By now, Friese-Greene was a bankrupt debtor who vainly tries to expand and innovate his cinematic ambitions and we see how he brings his family along with him in his downfall.
The second part of the movie focuses on the start of his career as a photographer and his gradual success in creating the moving picture. This is the most intriguing part of the movie, where we witness the birth of a new era. However, it is regrettable that we already know what is going to come of our hero; this way all that we observe somehow leaves us with a bitter aftertaste. And it detracts from the overall 'suspense'.
I guess that the main reason for this awkward order of life events is the fact that the interlude between the death of his first wife and his meeting his second is left undone. And this is unforgivable because this is also the period Friese-Greene brought his new invention to public attention. The recurring attention at his failed recognition lies in this period; also it would be nice to see how this totally new experience took place.
What we are left with is a tolerable movie about a man who is blind with ambition and therefore also blind to the people who love him and the people who he is indebted to. The acting, camera work and soundtrack are all fine. As said, the major setback is the screenplay: deplorable.