Good concept, poorly executed.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I enjoyed this film for the atmospheric scenes of bohemian Paris just after WWI. I did not take the recreation any more seriously than the time travel series on TV where the characters find themselves in the Paris of the 20's and run into Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, cocteau et al every time they set foot in a bar or turn a corner. Before the film began there was a statement that it was fiction based on real people and events; therefore those who complain about it not being an accurate biography of Modigliani have missed the point - no one ever said it was! My main problem with the film was Andy Garcia, who was around 15 years too old, too well fed and nowhere near as handsome as the real Modigliani. He simply did not have the Italian charm combined with dazzling good looks which would have been catnip to women. Not only was Garcia too old for the part, he can't act, and his haircut hanging in greasy strands over his face would turn off any woman.Another jarring note was that as baby Jeanne was born a few days after the end of WW1 and has not yet been baptised, something the Catholics do within few weeks of the birth, we must assume that the Modi and Jeane meet up again in 1918; however, there is no sign of Paris recovering from the terrible devastation of the war. Modigliani died two years later in 1920 and the film would have us believe that the intervening two years were one long party. From where did the starving artists get the money to buy their booze, let alone drugs? Finally, the structure of a little boy, Amadeo as a child? acting as his conscience was irritating and should have been scrapped. I would enjoy watching an accurate biography of Modigliani should someone care to make one.

This movie simply spoils a great character and its incredibly rich environment with a long series of pseudo-romantic inventions, a poor direction, and an awful Andy Garcia. Too many facts are totally invented, and alter deeply the personality of Modigliani, as well as the real course of the events, relationships, and even time line (Edit Piaf was definitely not singing yet at the time of the movie). Some scenes are ridiculous, and the large use of little cinematographic tricks (such like Modi whistling the Italian anthem, the "hollywood manual" competition applause, to name a few) lower the level to unacceptable. Fully disappointing.

I agree with the comments about the lack of truth in this movie, regarding the facts in the life of Modigliani. I would like to comment on the casting of Picasso. Some viewers are impressed with the actor; obviously they know nothing about Picasso and haven't seen his pictures. When I first saw the "Picasso" in this film I was so shocked and disgusted I wanted to quit and not watch it any more. (May be it was a good idea - I would've saved an hour or so). Picasso was nothing like this physically - he was athletic, robust, virile,oozing sexual power. He was Spaniard. Nothing like the greasy, obese, fat-nosed actor in the movie who looked more like an aged Middle Easterner with dyed hair (well, he is actually from Iran). To sum it up - regarding not only the casting of Picasso but the whole story - this is a very bad film, made by people who not only had no idea about the artists concerned, but they even had no interest to research the period, the place, the art scene. Their only concern was to make some easy dollar for the simple fact that most people have no information about Modigliani, his life and friends, and will take everything in the movie for a fact.This is one of the worst films I have ever seen in my life, this is for sure. Picasso and Modigliani were spinning in their graves when this pretentious insult to their memory was made!

The main assets of Modigliani are the spectacular acting, the beautiful camera shots and the great music (featuring La Vie en Rose and a beautiful Ave Maria interpretation). Andy Garcia does a wonderful job as the tormented Modigliani (he always does a wonderful job), whom everybody loves very much but nobody can help at all.Omid Djalili comes very close to the Picasso image I had in my mind.The story does not work very well, it is in fact a love story intertwined with a male friendship/rivalry. They tried to cram in so many characters into the plot that I sometimes felt at loss, and would have wished to know more about individual characters, respectively.For example, there is a scene in which Jeanne tells her father to leave her be and that she "recalls what he has done" already, a reference to her youth or early childhood, I assumed. I did not gather what he supposedly did.Then Modigliani also sees other women- has there been a break-up with Jeanne, I wondered or is it just his nature, and are we later on witnessing a reconciliation, the story does not tell. I did not understand why at the end, when Modigliani gets beaten up, his boy-self does not try to intervene, or reflect on the happenings, or why he did not try to urge his adult self to get going from the bar earlier, whereas he quite strongly interferes earlier, suggesting that Modigliani does not let Jeanne leave. The plot also includes many visions of Modigliani, such as the death of his friend in the asylum, or the conversations with himself as a child, which make a follow-up even harder. Although the runtime of Modigliani exceeds 2 hours, which I did not notice as the story captured me right from the start, there have been plot lines left unfinished.The movie Modigliani does not try to be authentic or historical, but rather captures the Montmartre, the Parisienne painters' everyday life and struggle in the '20s, seen through a beautiful and difficult love story and friendship.If you take it for what it is, a fictional, strongly emotional (and somewhat irrational) story based on some non-fictional characters, in a beautifully arranged setting and shot in a highly artistic manner, Modigliani is a wonderful movie and a worthy homage to the era and the great artists of those times.