Even factoring in his defensive, disarming smile, Franco’s chiseled Greek face is as cold as a statue here. But put together, they add up to a tough guy to warm up to. On the surface, his reactions are the standard rational male responses to female demands that he settle down (“I’m not ready for all that,” “You want kids and I don’t”, “I just want to write”) or show some outward emotion, for example, after watching a woman nearly die at the fairgrounds. Tomas is so self-absorbed that it’s hard to tell if he is meant to be taken as a negative character or just a deeply flawed one. Script cliches painting him as a moody alcohol and drug-addled writer prone to tear up the pages he has written in a fit of creative despair don’t take him far either. Though everyone tells him he is blameless, he obviously doesn’t feel that way, and the story lumbers on through scene after self-destructive scene until he faces his demons and reaches glib, unmerited closure. Nor does it help that writer Tomas Eldan (played by Franco) reacts to his overwhelming sense of guilt by closing up like a clam. On the contrary, the atmosphere hangs heavy as the characters try to cope with the central tragedy. The subject is grim enough to give many art house regulars pause, and Wenders’ treatment does nothing to lighten the depressing side of Bjorn Olaf Johannessen‘s screenplay. Prince Harry Wins Partial Victory With $180K Damages Ruling in Phone Hacking Case There is dramatic tension here, but all things considered, this ranks as a puzzling failure. Actors the caliber of James Franco and Charlotte Gainsbourg get the short end of the stick in this angst-ridden drama about a writer who is tormented by the accidental death of a child. But unfortunately, the awkwardly titled Every Thing Will Be Fine seems more like a showcase for expressive camerawork pushing the limits of cinematography than anything else. Perhaps no one outside of James Cameron has intuited the potential of 3D as well as the German director, and it was high time to try out these technical advances in a piece of dramatic fiction. Wim Wenders‘ fascination with 3D cinematography began with his acclaimed documentary Pina about dancer Pina Bausch, and continued in the multiple-director omnibus Cathedrals of Culture last year.
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