One problem have with most directors I have met is that they purposely choose the worst scripts in order to make something more out of them.
Here, we have such a director. Mira Nair does a great job of directing. The script isn't "poor", but it is very bland. The story line is pretty weak. The characters are good, however, and that saves it for her.
The story is weak because it is about a family forced to flee a country. If the family was "down and out" it would be a good story, but the family is almost royalty.
That doesn't make them bad people, but it makes for a dull story.
However, Nair must have made directing a passion. She utilizes what she has to make the most of. Here, Nair looks like the MacGyver of directing, able to take the dullest settings and make them appear interesting. Nair could take a street sign, and plant it in an artistic way. For example, much of this is set in gardens, airports, motor vehicles, businesses, streets, groceries, the dullest arenas you can imagine. Nair does well to make them appear larger than life.
The story here has a "larger than life" appeal. That's because of the pretty well written characters, good acting, and polished work all around, from director down to the part time stage hand. All did excellent work.
However, I couldn't rate it very high because it still bored me. I need some excitement in my story. This is not exactly a "chick flick", because the characters appeal to men. The chick is the weird one, while the lead male is the obviously sane one, the one people could identify with.
The embellishment of scenery probably can make most viewers enjoy the movie more than I. I'm just a little bourgeoisie for that. What the movie suffers from is constant drag. It is twice as long as it should be. Had the movie been cut in half, I would give it 2 more stars easily. Still, that does make it a good movie for those of us who don't cheat and "pause" when we leave the room.
Here, we have such a director. Mira Nair does a great job of directing. The script isn't "poor", but it is very bland. The story line is pretty weak. The characters are good, however, and that saves it for her.
The story is weak because it is about a family forced to flee a country. If the family was "down and out" it would be a good story, but the family is almost royalty.
That doesn't make them bad people, but it makes for a dull story.
However, Nair must have made directing a passion. She utilizes what she has to make the most of. Here, Nair looks like the MacGyver of directing, able to take the dullest settings and make them appear interesting. Nair could take a street sign, and plant it in an artistic way. For example, much of this is set in gardens, airports, motor vehicles, businesses, streets, groceries, the dullest arenas you can imagine. Nair does well to make them appear larger than life.
The story here has a "larger than life" appeal. That's because of the pretty well written characters, good acting, and polished work all around, from director down to the part time stage hand. All did excellent work.
However, I couldn't rate it very high because it still bored me. I need some excitement in my story. This is not exactly a "chick flick", because the characters appeal to men. The chick is the weird one, while the lead male is the obviously sane one, the one people could identify with.
The embellishment of scenery probably can make most viewers enjoy the movie more than I. I'm just a little bourgeoisie for that. What the movie suffers from is constant drag. It is twice as long as it should be. Had the movie been cut in half, I would give it 2 more stars easily. Still, that does make it a good movie for those of us who don't cheat and "pause" when we leave the room.