That was an excellent one.

So much average

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

9 because, 10 years later, i found myself explaining the plot of this movie to a friend of mine. not only could i remember the whole movie, even lines out of it, but i suddenly realized what it was all about! now, maybe i was just naive the first time i saw it and should have realized straight away. but that's not the point. the point is that any movie that, ten years after watching it, you can suddenly think 'that's what he was talking about', has staying power, to say the least. it's a still movie, so to speak, there's no doubt about it. but that doesn't necessarily make it boring - and given the above observation i don't think there can be any suspicion that it's not captivating.

Greenaway's films pose as clever, erudite and innovative. Yet his style and grammar originate and remind viewers of films made in the World War 1 era of film-making: the frame composition, use of mid-shot, the static camera. It may be well to rub against mainstream movies with this style but it is not new. Perhaps like that other "innovator", TS Eliot, he draws more from the past than in looking forward as an authentic innovator would or could.Yet Greenaway's biggest failing is that he cannot write. His dialog and even plot structure is mechanical and logical but without the vitality of another dramatic logician, Brecht. Where this weakness is most apparent is in his humor, which is poised and logical, so the joke is dead before it's delivered. The result is tedium: if it's not funny, it has failed: ask a stand-up comedian to justify their act if the audience doesn't respond. Perhaps the well-read director could learn something from Freud on humor.Finally, like Woody Allen, Greenaway has manipulated his actors over the years to work like clones. They speak the lines with a bored, smug air like narcissistic adolescents.This film, despite its design and lighting, is meretricious.

Actually, Greenaway has nearly always been laughing. It's just that many people fail to notice that. "8 1/2 Women", however, is different in that even the people who hate it (of which there will be plenty; it's Greenaway) will have no doubts that it is a comedy, and Greenaway's lightest-toned film yet.It is a playful tribute to Fellini and Godard, and it features - prominently - understanding, affection and warmth, none of which are emotions one would have easily associated with Greenaway's previous work. (In an after-screening interview, he commented that age makes one want to look more at the better side of things.) Because this is still very much a Peter Greenaway film, the ways in which emotions such as filial love are going to be explored are going to be very quirky indeed; but to interpret the film's "taboo" scene as intended to shock is a disservice to the film, the director's intentions (and his ability to *truly* shock when he wants to - check "The Baby of Macon") and your own enjoyment."8 1/2 Women" is full of odd little moments (and one SPECTACULARLY odd image which I won't spoil much, except to mention that it involves a pig, a Japanese Noh performer and a stunning Swiss villa) and offbeat humour; and it is about male bonding and male delusions about women. I can see how many people have taken the facile route of viewing it as misogynistic; these people have obviously not seen the same film as I have, which is all about control from behind the scenes, strategy, and the presentation of male supremacy for what it is - a fallacy."8 1/2 Women" was badly received at Cannes, got a tremendous backlash against it and died a death commercially. All of which is very unfair. If you like eccentric humour, give this film a chance. It's a little Wonderland of sorts and, in its own peculiar way, far more heartwarming than the average plastic Hollywood tear-jerker.

I always expect Peter Greenaway's films to push the envelope cinematically and in terms of sexuality. I've looked forward to seeing this movie for a long time, especially since it was a homage to Fellini's 8 1/2, but I was very disappointed. Although there were brief moments of captivating imagery and witty dialogue the story was uncompelling and perverse. It's wonderful to push the envelope as he has in previous films but this was too far. The characters were unbelievable and their actions without real motivation. In previous Greenaway films the characters were well-drawn, actions motivated and the images were both innovative and exciting. I hope this movie is not a sign of things to come.