Using adultery
as the launching point for a romantic comedy is a bold move, and one that A Perfect Man takes a majority of its
running time recovering from. Skipping over the ‘boy-meets-girl’ portion of the
storyline, all of A Perfect Man
focuses on the losing and winning back of that girl. There is a clever rom-com
scenario which allows out flawed male protagonist to “meet” the girl, unaware
that it is the same one that he already lost.
After he is
caught cheating on his wife for the last time, James (Liev Schreiber) finds
himself alone to face his mistakes. Nina (Jeanne Tripplehorn) clearly still
loves him, but cannot continue to allow her husband to repeatedly betray her
trust. They are native New Yorkers living in Amsterdam
The most
difficult reconciliation of plot points comes from this situation, especially
with the suspension of disbelief that James would not recognize the disguised
voice of his wife. There is also a great deal put in the hands of Schreiber in
his ability to make a man of despicable actions appear sympathetic and
redeemable, and this task is made more difficult by the plot point which has
him believing that he is flirting with a Dutch woman on the phone at the same
time that he feels regret for his betrayal. Schreiber’s performance does the
film service, though the plot takes its time showing his ability to grow and
change.
The special
features include a trailer.
Entertainment Value:
6/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
Disc Features: 1/10
No comments:
Post a Comment
Agree? Disagree? Questions for the class? All comments are welcome...