rozziemarie
This movie had so much material. The cast was promising but the writing and sound were a sad dissapointment. It felt like it was written in a week, shot in a few days and had a sound editor had little experience. Movie fell completely flat.
kynick2
I really wanted to like this film as I am a Hemingway fan like many people. I read a few reviews that trashed the film and then I came across one that said "I don't know why all the bad reviews" and that was enough for me to download a check it out. The film started OK. I like Ribisi (Sneaky Pete)and Minka Kelly is simply beautiful but from there it goes down hill. If they had shown Cuba (ala Woody Allen New York/Rome/Paris etc) it would have been more watchable but they didn't and it wasn't.The acting. Oh my goodness, to say it was wooden would be the understatement of the 21st century. The worst of the bunch is the guy that plays Hemingway. I've never seen or heard Hemingway in real life but I can't imagine he was the passionless bore he seemed to be. Maybe not a fair criticism but I like the way Hemingway was portrayed in Midnight in Paris. Halfway or so through the film, there is a get together and a confrontation of sorts between EH and his wife...here is where you get bad acting at it's finest. Ribisi seemed out of place but I believe that is more a product of a poorly written story than his skill set.The story. How bad is it? Let me count the ways. Never mind, I have better things to do. How this is rated above "3" is beyond me.
jrcadams-231-553486
I loved seeing places that were familiar to me from recent visits. As I watched the film, I recognized many scenes that I have seen before. The film was released in 2016, but I saw at least parts of it years ago. The nude scenes were missing from the version I saw, so I suspect it was a TV special, and some scenes were cut.I don't know why it got some terrible reviews. I could understand it if someone thought it could be better, but at least one review was negative for every aspect of the film, acting, directing, music. It almost looked like a conspiracy! I suspect that the aborted FBI raid on the fishing vessel was cooked up for a bit of drama, but didn't actually happen. Apart from that, it was, in fact, a perfectly respectable film.
ccorral419
This true story about the relationship between journalist Denne Bart Petitclerc (Giovanni Ribisi) and legendary writer Ernest Hemingway (Adrian Sparks) takes place during the 1959 Cuban Revolution. While Hemingway's granddaughter, Mariel Hemingway gets a brief cameo, co-stars Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck) and Ribisi are left to fight to establish their place in the film. To blame here is Director Bob Yari ("Crash" 2004) and Editor Glen Scantlebury. With a beach scene between Hemingway, Mary and Denne incorrectly shot/edited (the beach shore can't be behind all of them) and scenes that stop and start, the already lackluster chemistry between the characters struggle. Even Writer Denne Bart Petitclerc's dialogue is choppy and weak, and this is his story. At least, Sparks does a nice job as Hemingway, providing something interesting to hang on to. I don't care if this is the first Hollywood film to be shot in Cuba since 1959, I need more here and didn't get it.
AD
