Onegin (2000)

Loved the movie but Liv Tyler's performance ruined my pleasure.

I was drawn to this movie after seeing Marthe Fiennes latest work: Chromophobia.

Liv Tyler is absolutely gorgeous to watch but she is wooden and bland. No doubt this would not have become apparent should she have been paired with less seasoned and brilliant actors, but in the company of Ralf Fiennes, Toby Stevens, and the like, she is clearly out of her depth. She did the best she could and clearly gave a performance that stretched her prior abilities, but the director might be the one to thank for this.

Her body movement is clearly American and she, unlike someone like Rachel Weiz who can both look gorgeous AND convey intellectual fortitude, is not convincing as an avid reader and Old World aristocrat.

I didn't think there was much chemistry between her and Ralph Fiennes. There were more sparks flying in the 1 minute of screen time he shared with Francesca Annis, his real-life girlfriend at the time, then in the whole movie with Liv Tyler.

Outside of that, the movie is superb, directing and acting-wise, the music is wonderful. Those Fiennes kids are a talented bunch!

December 13, 2008

Onegin, DVD Film

I ordered "Onegin" a film placed on DVD. This movie was beautifully photographed in St. Petersburg, Russia and its surrounding countryside. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Liv Tyler, this film was a romance quite unlike any love story anyone has viewed. Originally, the novel was written by Alexander Pushkin and then transferred into an Opera composed by Pyotr llych Tchaikovsky. It's now in beautiful color on DVD; and for all of you who love a good period romance, this is the movie for you to view. It was very difficult to come back to reality after I saw it. August 13, 2008

Onegin off Again

I love Finnes and the period, however, this movie is a mixed bag. I love the period pieces, and this movie certainly has beautiful scenery. I think the characters are a bit stilted, probably the direction, and yet, I liked it. It won't be my fav, but it's part of my collection. May 14, 2008

Glad Onegin made it to film, but...

I was very fortunate to go to a high school that offered Russian language classes, and my teacher was a Russian aristocrat who escaped the country during the Bolshevik Revolution. She introduced me to Pushkin, and to this story. I thought it would have made a great film (Tchaikovsky made it an opera), and had high hopes for this. Unfortunately, it appears that the nepotism in this film brought about its downfall, particularly in that Martha focused on Ralph's face to distraction. And although I thought Liv Tyler did a fairly good job, the role of Tatyana lacked depth. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't believe an actress in this culture and with Tyler's background has done the amount of reading and the type of reading that could effectively reflect the bookish thoughtfulness of a character like Tatyana.

That said, the photography was gorgeous, and there were some devices that really worked. I thought the device of Tatyana moving through all the doors was an effective show of the passage of time, and that the scene with her writing the love letter to Onegin dramatic and sensual. I've always thought of ink as a conveyer of passion, but never seen it depicted in images as Martha Fiennes did it here.

Not a bad movie taken for the movie as it is. Just not a great recreation of the Pushkin work. May 5, 2008

Onegin - a superb movie

This movie was superb in it's setting, keeping to the dress and life and social activities of the period it was set in, the 1800's I think. If you liked Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, you'll like this one but I thought it could have gone further with the story. Besides that, a good collaboration between Ralph and his sister Martha who produced the movie with Ralph also starring as Onegin. May 3, 2008

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