GrimPrecise I'll tell you why so serious

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Goingbegging This film is adapted from a novelised version of the Scott and Zelda story, seen from Zelda's angle for once - much in line with Nina Ricci's own feminist agenda, as she has explained to the media at some length.It sheds an unflattering light on Scott, deservedly enough, because he was indeed an immature and incomplete character, whose drinking shocked even Hemingway. Yet Hemingway blamed Zelda for distracting Scott from a sensible day's work, although he did fall back on her extensive diaries for much of the detail in his novels.But any political message is bound to be eclipsed by the sheer fun of a Roaring Twenties spectacular, based around the couple who essentially invented that decade (in Scott's own phrase, 'The Jazz Age'). We start at the fag-end of the Great War, with 20-year olds writing their Last Will and Testament, as they await the fateful crossing to France. Posted to Alabama, Scott meets Zelda, the local county belle, spoilt and wilful, who is rather casually doing her bit for the war effort. There is a believable portrayal of a respectable Southern home, where Zelda's father, played with deep conviction by David Strathairn, tries to keep her in order, while "Well-behaved women don't make history" is flashed-up on the screen, as though it was coined by Zelda, which it wasn't.We have to conclude that Zelda's fame as Scott's muse will always outshine any other role she may have hoped for (novelist, artist, ballerina), and Ricci fills the role as well as anyone could, despite being twice the age of the girl she plays. The title comes from Scott's declaration "I love her, and it is the beginning of everything". This may not seem to mean much, though it is true that he might never have got his first novel into print (third try), if Zelda had not stipulated this as her first condition of their engagement.The puzzle remains as to why Amazon decided at the last moment to cancel this promising series before its second season (September 2017).

Olinthecity I cannot believe the negative reviews for this series! I am extremely interested in the Jazz Age/Flapper/Prohibition era as well as the Fitzgeralds who were true embodiments of this time period.I think it was beautifully filmed, and despite what some reviewers say, I believe Christina Ricci was an excellent choice to play the complicated Zelda Fitzgerald. I won't drone on and on but just need to say I am so disappointed this wasn't picked up for at least one more season.One more thing: I am so tired of special effects/vulgarity/and fast-paced MTV generation short attention span dialogue that is found in most contemporary shows and films!

Amari-Sali The IntroductionIt's 1918 and World War I has yet to end and one rich southern girl named Zelda (Christina Ricci) has become so bored of life in Montgomery, Alabama. All the boys are the same, the men similar but with more responsibilities, and no one seems stimulating at all. Thus leaving Zelda to talk to boys, be passed around like a basketball on a dance floor, and maybe kiss a few frogs in hopes he maybe a prince. All to the ire of her father Judge (David Strathairn) who sees her actions as the makings of a hussy. But when in the pursuit of love and quality companionship, nothing is accomplished if you just sit around and move about the same old circles right?Things To NoteI should note this about more than romance, but while the war effort is a wallflower there isn't much else talked about besides Zelda's pursuit of fun and romance.Low PointsIf First Impressions Are Everything, This One Doesn't Make A Good OneCall it fatigue, perhaps even low tolerance for average or mediocre programming but honestly, Ricci doesn't present Zelda in such a way where you desire to care. Nevermind my own personal loathing for following rich people problems, which usually deal with boredom despite so much at their fingertips, Ricci just honestly doesn't have that oomph to justify being a leading actress. Not to imply she is a bad actress, in any way, it is just she blends so well into the background that often times it is like she isn't there. She doesn't have that energy, that allure, per se, which leads you to have an attachment to Zelda.She isn't alone, though. In general, with this being a southern period piece, naturally all the main players are white and strangely telling one apart from another is difficult. Leading me to wonder if it may even be Ricci that brought a dullness to the pilot and perhaps just the writing in general. For while the set is beautiful, the clothing quite interesting, you will be hard pressed to say one character in the whole entire pilot really caught your attention.Overall: Negative (Don't Watch)I maintain the opinion that Amazon still is struggling to find a steady stream of original content so that it is truly capable of competing with Netflix, Hulu, and other online video services. Part of the reason is because it seems like they don't want to take a real risk, they want to mostly produce the same type of shows that you can find on cable or network TV, hopefully at the same cost, and have a cheap hit. Now, while you do have to applaud them to not rely on sex in their shows, for the most part, unfortunately, Amazon exhibits why other platforms rely on sex selling their program so heavily. For once you strip that away, what is left?Well, Z: The Beginning of Everything, shows you what. You have dull, almost monotone characters. The kind no more interesting than an extra and yet they somehow are right in front of the camera. Add in that Ricci, despite her years of experience, doesn't have that Nicholas Hoult, Omari Hardwick, or Viola Davis type persona [1] to hook you and want you to get to know this world she has likely been drowning herself in, and you are left with a time waster. Though, thankfully, Amazon shows are only a half hour so while this pilot is such a bore it'll feel longer than that, imagine how tedious an hour in Zelda's world would have been.Things to Note1. To elaborate, the names mentioned, despite having a show in which they are the only recognizable name, they bring something to it so that you want to know who these characters are that are played by unfamiliar actors. They lead you to desire to know what happens next to this person and Ricci, alongside the writers of the pilot, just don't succeed in making you want to experience Zelda's world no matter how interesting she supposedly is on paper.

handy314 The Jazz Age Fitzgeralds were such lightning in a bottle, that to try and capture it is audacious: we know the champagne will pour and the fame will come, and the real pain will come with the hangovers and end in despair for the both of them. But the controversial choice of Christina Ricci as Jazz Baby Number One instead of any other McAdams Barbie doll from the Hollywood shelf gives this pilot a bounce and possibility because she is such a hellcat. I'm already jonesin' for her wild gin-fed car scream rides and Paris fountain dances. And David Strathairn is such a delightfully stolid and formal southern judge for her to bounce off of. Fitz is such a limp hankie next to her--which was probably true--that watching him ignite into brilliance from her bad girl spark and become the man who could write Gatsby and fall Icarus-like back to Earth in her skirts to face the Depression is very promising. Most importantly, this is a sumptuous period piece from one of two most exciting decades of the last century. If Amazon orders more of "Z", I will be a devoted watcher. Thanks for letting us review.