Bel Ami (2012)

Simply A Masterpiece

hyped garbage

Boring

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I stumbled upon this movie on Netflix and have watched it several times since my first viewing. All the actors did justice to their parts and the story progressed at the pace it was intended. Rob Pattinson was sexy and convincing as the desperate social climber who put his heart on the back-burner to achieve his goal. Uma Thurman down plays her sexiness yet turns on the sex appeal and ice cold stoicism perfectly. Christina Ricci has matured into a beautiful woman and excels as a character actor. She convinced me as the lady in public, whore in bed. Kristin Scott Thomas did wonderfully as the sex starved proper lady of her time but was out shined by the aforementioned. Special moments for me: Rob P's character taking Christina R's character to his flat for their first encounter and his feeble attempts of decorating his "dump" with paper lanterns. Another beautiful moment was brief but he and Uma, after they were married...in the hallway...he was so enamored by her; she took his breath away. You'll know when you see it. Another peek into his character's heart is the flowers. Rob P. shows himself as an actor with great potential, although he excels in this movie. He is subtle yet convincing. The entire cast shines. Fun romp of a movie.

The movie is centered in life of a young man in the city of Paris, whose characterization is made by Robert Pattinson. The first half of the story seems to be a little slow paced, and made me wonder if it would ever engage, since apparently there was no interesting character or situation. However, after the first half, it seems that everything starts to work very well, and the film finally involves the audience-- mainly after Mr. Forestier's death. Mostly of that is due to the good acting of Pattinson, who proves to have improved considerably since his inexpressive acting in 2011's "Water for Elephants". Also, directing is something to be appreciate in here; directors are professional in delivering some tense scenes that suggest much of characters' thoughts. The sex scenes feel real, and I like the way characters touch each other before the "act" itself-- you know what I mean. The supporting cast is maybe better than average, and Clotilde's character was professionally played by Christina Ricci. It is indeed interesting to notice how the society was chauvinist; Duroy could sleep with as many women as he wanted to, but once he finds out that Madeleine was also cheating on him, he just freaks out. Even thought society has changed a lot in that aspect since the year this movie is supposed to represent, the situation I just mentioned still happens a lot-- at least where I live. All in all, "Bel Ami" proves to be a decent piece of work that didn't have the attention it deserved, to say the least.

strange film. for expectations of readers and fans of actors. for the science to preserve atmosphere. and the clothes, atmosphere, spirit the spirit of novel are at perfect place. but the film remains only a sketch. a good opportunity for remember the Maupassant work. sure, the cast is impressive and the performance of Robert Pattinson is not bad but , in many moments, the film seems be a run. result - a nice movie. nothing more. is it enough ? I do not know. for me , it is a too American adaptation. but it is not can be a sin. and the meeting with three great actresses is a seductive prize. or the surprise to discover metamorphose of young Pattinson. so, almost a delight.

1890 Paris. Life is carefree. For a moment, I thought I was back to the great "Moulin Rouge," (1952) with Jose Ferrer and Collette Marchand along with Zsa Zsa Gabor.The story is basically that behind every man is a woman of power who can make or break him.There are certainly plenty of dangerous liaisons here. Infidelity is rampant. It's almost an accepted practice in life with the exception that it can cause talk when an inheritance situation arises.Robert Pattinson is the penniless fop, he arrives from army service and makes his way up the ladder to success with the women he seduces and who seduce him.Everyone is practically in bed with everyone else. Morality sure doesn't exist in this film. Husbands die and Pattinson is there to replace them, only to get his just reward when his new wife is caught with the foreign minister. He unloads her and makes an alliance with the daughter of the woman he had previously spurned. By the way, there is plenty of government corruption here, but what else is new?