My Zinc Bed (2008)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I just want to state that I could not take my eyes off the screen until the very end of this fine drama. I had a vague recollection of having seen it before but fortunately no clear memory of how it ended. The ending actually is somewhat anti-climactic given the intensity of the previous scenes.Dialogue is quick: more often seen in a theatrical production than in a feature film. But this is not surprising given the source material.A true gem that took me out of time for just over an hour.Gee, I am short of the minimum ten lines ... So what else can be said?Well, Uma Thurman's accent was a bit odd but not enough to spoil the drama.

I've been an avid movie fan for half a century and try to keep up with new releases. Tuesday is Neflix/Blockbuster online day IF I can find enough titles that interest me. I read a brief description of 'MZB' and noticed the cast...especially Paddy Considine and figured if Uma Thurman, Jonathan Pryce, AND Paddy had chosen to be in this movie, it MUST have some merit. I watched five DVD's before I put this one into the player. FIRST, I was astonished to see it was an HBO Film. HBO who doesn't miss and HBO who offers some of the best entertainment in the world. I was caught up in the plot during the first sixty seconds and my eyes stayed glued to the TV for the next seventy-two minutes. Perhaps a seventy-three minute film is not the usual box office fare, but this was one of the most brilliantly written, acted, and directed films I've seen all year. It could be Uma Thurman's best acting ever. Paddy Considine only gets better with each movie and has become one of my favorites. The problems of addiction to alcohol and love were equally expressed and portrayed by this wonderful small ensemble. David Hare, who wrote the stage play, adapted it for the movie and did a magnificent job. IF you're looking for sex and action, leave this one on the shelf of your favorite video store...but if you're a lover of serious drama...PUT THIS ONE ON YOUR LIST TO SEE! I can't wait to see new comments appear on this message board once the film has been noticed by the American audiences!

A quiet but tense piece, definitely not for those who hope for blatant excitement, being more a study of characters, each in his/her own privately nightmarish situation. Essentially a three-hander between Pryce, Considine and Thurman, all of whom turn in excellent performances of a solid script with many well observed turns of phrase and personality. Main weakness is how it dwells, for around 70 minutes, on alcoholic addiction to the exclusion of most else; but, if you know that going in, maybe you can handle it. Conversion from stage to screen works okay.FWIW, the end credits show it as co-production of BBC and HBO.

I watched My Zinc Bed last night on BBC2. I had high hopes for this one-off drama but quite frankly it was a truly awful piece of Television. It was clearly made for American TV. Everything about it felt fake: the over the top acting, the shots and the music. It was a adapted from a play, but why? It was boring.The story focuses on an alcoholic poet (Paddy Considine) who starts working for a millionaire businessman (Jonathan Pryce) after they meet for an interview. The poet then meets his wife (Uma Thurman) and the pair fall in love.Every conversation was about the same thing. Being addicted to drink. The characters just kept winding each other up, which led to me being wound up and wanting to stop watching it. It tried to be so clever and intelligent but it was just dull. I think it failed because it went for the "less is more" strategy: one conversation between Uma Thurman (what attracted her to this TV movie in the first place?) and Paddy Considine led to them kissing and then being in love. And the only way that the audience knew that was through the weak narration.Surely the BBC can do better in future.