Best movie ever!

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Plot is plodding and pointless and the characters are unsympathetic. The dialog literally put me to sleep and music reminds me of a funeral dirge. I usually love Rachel Weisz as an actress so I was surprised to find her in such an awful movie. Her cuckold of a husband makes any man in love ashamed and fearful to admit that any man could possibly act in such a spineless manner. The boyfriend is such a cad that it is impossible to see anything from his pointy of view other than agreeing with his actions to escape the clingy partnership he found himself in. the worst character of all was Rachel Weisz's which is a clingy neurotic shell of a woman who has no self worth.

This movie starts brilliantly. Director Terence Davies creates a scene centred around a suicide attempt that is quite beautiful and frightening. It really gets the movie going and gets you interested in the story.Rachael Weisz puts in an accomplished performance as the female protagonist at the centre of a love triangle. She is exceptional throughout and well supported by Simon Russell Beale and Tom Hiddleston.So why didn't I like this movie more? Well, I think the answer lies in the fact that this movie is based on a play, and it shows. The scenes are long, heavy on dialogue, and not much is done with the screenplay to add something extra.I think this would be wonderful to see in a crowded theatre where the dramatic tension could build up with the audience in close proximity to the actors. But on a small screen, it just doesn't work as well. Eventually, it becomes boring. And the oddest thing about it is why, after the fantastic opening, Davies doesn't make more use of cinematic techniques to turn this into a "movie." He obviously had the ability, so why didn't he use it? A shame.

On paper this version of Rattigan's classic looked to have the right ingredients - a visually brilliant director and a top-notch cast. However it turns out to be a disappointment. This is chiefly due to a lack of sympathy with the characters: we do not really understand why Hester Collyer (Rachel Weisz) should feel as she does, while Tom Hiddleston as Freddie Page is badly miscast. He seems to be under the impression that shouting will reveal the character's inadequacies. Simon Russell Beale is quite good as Hester's husband, but even he doesn't really have much to do. The film also represents an uneasy mix of Davies' and Rattigan's concerns; there are new musical sequences inserted (for example, a scene in a local pub, and a flashback to wartime London) which have strong echoes of Davies' earlier work (THE LONG DAY CLOSES comes to mind), but which deflect attention away from Rattigan's character-driven piece. Weisz does what she can with the material, but in the end we do not really care what happens to her.

Not to be confused with the shark thriller with Saffron Burrows, Ice Cube and Samuel L. Jackson, I know this was a British made film, and the leading actress in it, but I didn't know anything about the plot or concept, so I was looking forward to it. Basically, set in around the 1950's, Hester Collyer (Golden Globe nominated Rachel Weisz) is a young woman married to the older High Court judge Sir William Collyer (Simon Russell Beale), and is having a passionate affair with handsome young former RAP pilot Freddie Page (Thor's Tom Hiddleston) who is still haunted by memories of the war, and he almost feels no fear and excitement in life anymore. Most of the story takes place in the space of one day, when in her flat Hester attempts to commit suicide, she fails to do so and recovers, both the affectionate but no-sexual affair and the constrained but comfortable marriage are played out together through flashbacks. Her affair is discovered, and leaves her regular life of relative luxury for a dingy life in a small London flat with her lover, he has awakened her sexually, but despite his thrill-seeking ways he cannot give her the same love and stability as her husband, but she cannot return to a life with passion, so there is a lot of dilemma. Also starring EastEnders' Ann Mitchell as Mrs. Elton, Jolyon Coy as Philip Welch, Karl Johnson as Mr. Miller, Harry Hadden-Paton as Jackie Jackson and Sarah Kants as Liz Jackson. Firsty, the title is derived from the lead female character's dilemma of being caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea – two equally undesirable situations, I think I know what that means, going with your conscience or going with your heart. Reisz gives a good performance as the woman caught between choosing her acceptable home life or having a bit more excitement with a new man, Hiddleston is also good as the man she embarks on an affair with, the story is relatively simple, based on a stage play, full of strain and heartrending material, it is well acted and produced, and certainly keeps you wondering where is is going, a terrific drama. Very good!