Die Damen aus Boston (1984)

Die Damen aus Boston: Directed by James Ivory. With Christopher Reeve, Vanessa Redgrave, Jessica Tandy, Madeleine Potter. A Boston feminist and a conservative Southern lawyer contend for the heart and mind of a beautiful and bright girl unsure of her future.

“Iu0026#39;ve always been interested in the James adaptations,and in the Ivory films.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe Bostonians u0026#39; first halfu0026#39;s calligraphy and distinguished Callophily is pleasing,then the groundless length becomes oppressive,annoying and exasperating,so that finally I loathed this movie.Thatu0026#39;s no way to treat the viewers!The unjustified and intolerable length does not serve the narration,not the atmosphere,nor the charactersu0026#39; development. Wasted footage!I began by liking The Bostonians ,I finished by loathing this movie that goes nowhere.(James was quite loquacious and blabbed with a senile joy,and the movie gets also very talkative.)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eReeve smiles intelligently and even ironically from time to time,which kind of contradicts his supposed plainness.He acts somehow beside the point,but I guess the idea of introducing him as a tom cat with transient smiles was meant to cheer a little this overlong H. James adaptation,and as a needed antidote for the crabby Mrs. Redgrave.Reeve is almost brave in feigning some real interest for Madeleine Potteru0026#39;s character.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe two actresses I liked are:(1)Nancy New (as u0026quot;Olive Chancelloru0026quot;u0026#39;s far more attractive sister);(2)Nancy Marchand.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMrs. Redgrave is a broody,headstrong,crabbed,exalted and poisonous,felonious damsel ,as interesting as Leninu0026#39;s books.As a matter of fact,this poor woman looks rather feeble-minded.One hopes in vain sheu0026#39;ll have her fling with u0026quot;Verena Tarrantu0026quot;.She is here as cranky as ever.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMrs. Madeleine Potter is very uninteresting, insipid,and as fascinating as a sausage.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTowards the final of The Bostonians ,I swore at the director, at the scriptwriter and at the entire cast.I would seize Ivory by his ears and force him watch many Bruce Lee movies and many Jackie Chan movies,so much that he gets able to make at least something that well-thought.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe whole plot is utterly nauseating.The characters are as viscid as the mollusks.This makes the movie a morass.This is a show,donu0026#39;t ask me to judge it as if it were a novel.Iu0026#39;m talking about Ivoryu0026#39;s show,not about Jamesu0026#39; novel.The most annoying fact is that Mrs. Redgrave seems to enjoy her role;this is unacceptable!(But it is also obvious that no member of the cast is able to get what this show is about.This may serve,though in a paradoxical way,as a justification for them all!These people (Reeve, Nancy Marchand and Nancy New) performed hoping there is a meaning they are not yet able to comprehend.)”