TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

GazerRise Fantastic!

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Lewsir I am writing this because I've read 10 reviews and people seem to be taking this movie seriously. I don't understand. It's clearly a silly spoof of a film, not to be taken the least bit seriously. It's somewhat entertaining in that regard, though not particularly inspired. The acting is passable - though the more this is seen as intentionally silly, the better I would rate the acting. Whether it does the least bit of justice to George Sand, I'm not sure, but I hope not. Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant are pretty much wasted, since they are not especially comedic actors. Though as usual I enjoyed watching the sublime Mandy Patinkin, he can do no wrong in my eyes...Anyway, just don't expect a serious drama here...

alphasun I want to add my voice to those who rate this as among the best films ever made. The writer seems to deserve a bit more credit. The whole script is like one of the wonderful, rich piano pieces by Chopin or Liszt -- loaded with details that the actors and director have exploited to the full. Judy Davis is exactly the actress for this part. Her public and intimate scenes are both magnificent. For the first time I realise that she is on the same level as Emma Thompson. Hugh Grant and the others, right down to the bit parts, are all perfect or as near as one can expect. A fine film about art which recognizes the most important thing about art, that it is a reflection of life. On selecting it on TV I suppose I expected a more limited, tear-jerking sort of film and what is now termed a chick-flick -- instead, I found a masterpiece.

nycritic If it weren't for Judy Davis' overpowering presence (which might sound redundant since that is what she is known for), IMPROMPTU would be an extended piece of boredom modulated by the occasional incursion into repartee, blended with the revolving door of (then) rising and established British actors, peppered with an occasional American thrown in for sport. What little plot there actually is, revolves around Aurora Dupin, a.k.a. Georges Sand -- arguably the first feminist the world and literature ever had -- and how her life becomes a sitcom of sorts where men and women flutter in and out, some of them -- Franz Lizst (Julian Sands) and Frederic Chopin (Hugh Grant) -- becoming lovers, and others, like Felicien Mallefille (one of her former beaus, played by Georges Corraface) turning mildly psycho and trying to prove something by challenging the effeminate Chopin into a duel which never officially establishes itself since Chopin faints dead away and she has to shoot Mallefille herself. Some characters are written rather shabbily -- most notably Marie d'Agoult played by a shrill Bernadette Peters -- who switches personalities quicker than she would do outfits and seems to act on whims that have to do more with her love/hate acquaintance with Sand than actual preoccupation with anyone else. Other than that, with Emma Thompson in a small part, IMPROMPTU lives up to its ad hoc story and execution and is a solid piece of entertainment.

Roedy Green This movie is about a George Sand, a woman with enough testosterone for two men, trying to seduce Chopin, a gay man with tuberculosis. His appeal to her is his fame and artistic ability. Because he is gay, he represents a challenge. Sand, had she been born today, would have been a transsexual.Judy Davis brings tremendous energy to the Sand role. I'm surprised she is not already as famous as Glenda Jackson or Judy Dench.I was quite disappointed in Hugh Grant's portrayal. His Chopin was as bland and dull a raw pork chop. He did not recoil at Sand's physical advances. Then of course with one kiss, he turned into a heterosexual. What nonsense! It would not have been anything like that. I can tell you from personal experience as a gay who has been in similar circumstances. But that's the writer's failure, not Grant's.It is a movie about silly spoiled artists who abuse their wealthy patrons. It even makes you burst out laughing at a man getting shot.The costumes and settings are so lush, you might just watch it for that.