Watch Bastards For Free

Simply A Masterpiece

As Good As It Gets

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

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

This film seems to me strangely overrated here. The story is promising indeed but not very well executed. All the people, especially the evil ones, act mechanically here -- even the sinful SM orgy is done apathetically, like some boring work routine. The weakest part is Raphaelle's character, very underwritten and Chiara Mastroianni cannot compensate for this either. She should be deeply content and at the same time desperate in the role of maitresse/mother, should be very beautiful and exciting (what she is not, she's not ugly but worn out) to explain even a cold affection from the part of the demanding M. Laporte and Marco's un-tactical fit of passion in the end. There should be chemistry between her and Marco from the beginning, but we do not see that and her involvement with him feels totally unfounded. Actually they seem to feel awkwardly when together, even their lovemaking is hard to watch, rough but not passionate and hardly the source of emotional satisfaction she must have missed with Laporte... Even her life with her son lacks any vitality, we could as well look at two customers in a furniture store. Theoretically we know what she is expected to feel -- or the suspenseful ending would not be believable - - but it is only a cold knowledge.Cinematography is surprisingly bad sometimes: the way the important car crash is filmed usually can be seen in very old and very low-budget movies only. The good parts: Vincent Lindon tries his best, he feels genuine in this hard role. Music is more than adequate. Plus the vintage Alfa Romeo, well, *that* is a masterpiece.

Marco is the captain of a supertanker. He's at sea and life is good.Pull the chain on that. Marco's sister Sandra calls him back in desperation: her husband has committed suicide, her daughter Justine is in a tailspin, and the family business is not going well. Sandra accuses wealthy business man Edouard Laporte as the cause of these ill fortunes. So Marco, in his own particular way, goes after Edouard.Marco's fortunes diminish, and he discovers a number of discouraging truths about his family. This gets more evident when a young man offers to sell Justine back to him for 5000 francs.Will Marco pull himself and his family out of this downward spiral, or will external forces be too great for that? -----Scores-----Cinematography: 6/10 For much of the screen time, there was not enough light or too much light, odd choices of camera angles, strange depth of field choices...in other words, much of the noir package. The filming of the car ride with passengers and drivers high on drugs was quite emblematic of this. I did not find this helpful or illustrative, even though this is a dark tale.Sound: 7/10 OK, redeemed by the sound track with the closing credits.Acting: 6/10Screenplay: 6/10 A bit lurching for my taste. The film jumps from segment to segment to segment, with time references not all that clear, with one message. All the characters are flawed and disgusting. Got it: noir.

A rambling script that jumps so often from one person to another; one scene to another; one plot structure to another that you're left wondering if this is a story or an exercise in the writers/director being enamored with their cleverness. The inconclusive and illogical, abrupt ending is further proof of the film makers' self-absorption. Excessive use of flash backs and constant, shifting brief moments with each character leaves the viewer caring less about the principal vehicle - the life of a young girl in a prostituting environment. I usually have high regards for French film studios efforts, especially with their crime/thriller movies, but in this case ... Final verdict - who cares!

'BASTARDS': Three Stars (Out of Five) Disturbing and confusing French crime drama film from director Claire Denis. It stars Vincent Lindon, Chiara Mastroianni, Julie Bataille, Lola Créton and Michel Subor. It was written by Denis and Jean-Pol Fargeau and tells the tale of a sea captain who goes AWOL to investigate his brother-in-law's suicide and protect his sister and niece from an evil businessman. I found the modern day film noir look and style of the movie to be interesting but didn't care at all for it's disjointed storytelling. I had no idea what was going on most of the time and still don't understand much of the film.Lindon stars as Marco, a sea captain who goes AWOL and returns home to Paris when he learns his brother-in-law committed suicide. His sister Sandra (Bataille) believes a wealthy businessman, named Edouard Laporte (Subor), was responsible for her husband's death. Marco moves into the building of Laporte's mistress, Raphaëlle (Chiara Mastroianni), in order to investigate Laporte and becomes involved with Raphaëlle, who wants to protect her son (from Laporte) at any cost. Marco desperately wants to protect his sister and her teenaged daughter, Justine (Créton), as well.The film was inspired by current sex ring scandals involving rich men and has received lots of rave reviews for it's director and criticism of capitalism. I like it's commentary on society but it's a tad too dark and disturbing for me to enjoy much. I can still respect movies like this but the way the story is told all out of order is far too confusing for the average viewer (and me). I don't think making your film impossible to follow is a good way to make movies but I did like the look and style of the film and think the director and actors show a lot of talent in it.Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAydMPYt0Hs