I was attempting to explain it to a friend who wanted to see it tonight. I told them it was good, but was flawed in that you don't feel as much as you should for the characters.
I think Lurham cut out all that, because he was trying to cram the film into two hours and thirty minutes as opposed to the three and half to four hours that Gone With the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia were. But, it hurt the film. Remember the scene where Lady Ashley tells Nulla the story of the Wizard of OZ? She doesn't really tell him the story, so much as breezes over it, highlighting the best bits in a sort of summary fashion. That's what I felt the director was doing here - breezing over bits like the transformation of the ranch, her job at the army office in order to get Nulla freed from the island, the fact that she and the Drover were apart for so long, and Nulla's life on the mission. We were told what happened, but not shown, much the same way she tells Nulla the tale of the Wizard of Oz. Which makes me wonder if it was deliberate? Nullah learns how to tell a story from Lady Ashley, and breezes over the uninteresting bits, focusing on the action and cool stuff or the stuff he recalls. Which makes the film interesting, but still lacking in emotional impact.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2008-11-30 04:50 am (UTC)I think Lurham cut out all that, because he was trying to cram the film into two hours and thirty minutes as opposed to the three and half to four hours that Gone With the Wind and Lawrence of Arabia were. But, it hurt the film. Remember the scene where Lady Ashley tells Nulla the story of the Wizard of OZ? She doesn't really tell him the story, so much as breezes over it, highlighting the best bits in a sort of summary fashion. That's what I felt the director was doing here - breezing over bits like the transformation of the ranch, her job at the army office in order to get Nulla freed from the island, the fact that she and the Drover were apart for so long, and Nulla's life on the mission. We were told what happened, but not shown, much the same way she tells Nulla the tale of the Wizard of Oz. Which makes me wonder if it was deliberate? Nullah learns how to tell a story from Lady Ashley, and breezes over the uninteresting bits, focusing on the action and cool stuff or the stuff he recalls. Which makes the film interesting, but still lacking in emotional impact.