Cold Souls (2009)

Please don't spend money on this.

Just perfect...

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is indeed an unfortunate creative misfire but because it features the genius of Emily Watson it deserves nothing less than the highest rating available. Her performance overwhelms the lackluster material and brightens this dark story by the delight of seeing her once again before the cameras. The rest of the cast is adequate given what they are given to work with and Ms. Watson succeeds in sparking the performance of Giamati somewhat. However, whenever she steps into a scene, it is she who dominates it and the movie comes alive by reason of her artistic brilliance. It is impossible to not recommend this film because one must not allow an opportunity to witness such a great talent work. This particular role is an interesting choice for Emily Watson and that has been a hallmark of her body of work. She seems to accept the most interesting role offered her and uses her magic upon it. The part of a perplexed, frustrated wife would be of no note if played by any other actress. But Watson is not simply an actress. She is arguably the greatest actor working in any medium today and continues to amaze us with her unmatched talent and touch our hearts and souls with one unforgettable performance after another. Although she appears all too briefly in this particular film, she is the only reason to see it and that alone is reason enough to give this movie any attention at all.

This is depressing, because it is not merely bad, it stomps on some very precious ideas.The fault is in trying to be Woody Allen; even he fails most of the time. There is a deep concept here, but it is obscured by the attempt to wrap it in humor.The thing worth noticing:This is a film about performance. Actors have a cursed life in that they have to fill themselves by emptying themselves. The full life is the life committed to potential waste. We are all actors. These concepts first appeared in drama in the famous Vanya of Chekhov. "Vanya on 42nd Street" changed that into a layered folding, making the connection to life outside of the theater explicit.Here, Giamatti plays the role of Wallace Shawnin "Vanya on 42nd." David Strathairn plays the same role he did in the similar "Limbo," while Dina Korzun adapts the Audrey Tautou role from "Dirty Pretty Things."Even the secondary characters are pulled from cold storage with Lauren Ambrose asked to stand in for the Alicia Witt role in "Liebestraum." All of those referenced films repackage Vanya's notions which are deep and disturbing, as suicidally disturbing as they were for the uncle. There is a way to handle this with humor, I am sure, but Barthes does not find it. She empties and does not fill.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

I gave the movie 9 and I stand behind that. The classic Giamatti drama, wit and humour are not lacking here and there are foreign-speaking parts which are blissfully uncluttered. The viewer has to be forgiving of practical details relating to the non-local scenes because getting bogged down in the reality of what would likely have really happened would make the movie darker than desired and be inconsistent with the unreal aspect of the plot. In essence, a little flexibility on the practical nature of things is rewarded with a rich experience. The only real downside is the undeveloped character played by Emily Watson. Even a few more good lines could have given us a full character. If her character was supposed to be an equal presence then the movie would get a lower grade, but as a supporting role it was good.

Yes, it is a comedy, but not just a black one, but a very bleak one. Bleak, like a bleak landscape, with very few features. The funny parts are few and far between. Bleak, also as in very dark. The situation that Paul Giamatti finds himself is is more dramatic than comedic, although there are some funny scenes. Funny in the way "Being John Malkovitch" was funny, but without that actor's egotism. In fact, Paul Giamatti's persona and performance are the opposite of egotistical. This really is Paul Giamatti's film, with the other actors, including the excellent David Strathairn and Emma Watson, merely foils. There is also an actress who is the "spitting image" of Scarlett Johansen. I thought that it was Scarlet playing an uncredited role - like Bette Midler in Get Shorty.