Simply Perfect

Nice effects though.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This movie is a refreshing departure from the usual fish-out-of water / Boy meets Girl fare. The sense of dissatisfaction that She experiences in her marriage is conveyed realistically. His loneliness and sense of persecution for being a Muslim in modern U.K. gives the story a contemporary and relevant angle. The courtly and erotic way in which he captures her heart as well as the use of verse injects the right amount of romance.Minor flaw: Since it is told in verse, some of the "fleshing out" of the relationships is missing.Bonus:Great shots of Cuba

I suppose for some, this movie has some redeeming qualities. For me, however, I found myself hitting the fast-forward button through 75% of the film. First of all, the attempt at having all of the characters dialog rhyme was extremely distracting and so removed from real life that it made the already uninteresting plot even more unbearable.Since I spent most of the time fast-forwarding through what seemed to me as the ridiculous and mundane, you should really watch the movie for yourself and make your own judgements. Maybe you'll get lucky and actually be able to get into it.One word of advice, rent this movie first prior to purchasing. You'll be glad you did. I'll be putting my copy up for sale on eBay.

I very much looked up forward to watching this movie. As soon as I could, I did. It was an interesting experience. I like the texts, I like the fact that they are in Iambic Pentameter, and even if sometimes it sounds a bit cheesy or pretentious in a bad way, most of the time it is handled very well and when it is good it is best, much more better than worse. He. Nonetheless, the movie is not perfect at all I feel. Even though the cinematography is cool, I think the production design could have been more lavish - there obviously wasn't much money to use up, in a project like this. Iambic Pentameter? Divided world and racial issues openly discussed? Risky project, yeah, but like all the good ones. It isn't politically correct (which is good for me), but maybe that expression is dead by now in the real world. I admire it for it's many ambitions and how also many of them are accomplished, because it is honest and brave and it got done in a good way. Nonetheless, I had artistic problems. First yeah, it was sparse, second the editing and music selection - I don't know if I like. What is Gustavo Santaolalla's charango music doing there? Doesn't fit in my ears. But it's me. And the editing - those transitions... just didn't feel good to me either.Apart from that, a very worthy movie to see, not majestic or really profoundly dramatic but certainly daring and true to it's view.And Simon Abkarian is BRILLIANT. Just watch him cry in the parking lot scene. (Everyone else is solid too). Certainly the film deserves a view - the deepest of themes, no, but thoughtful and nice in the end. The aunts monologue is also of worthy praise.I couldn't help thinking how it could be done quite well as a theater piece? Check it out, it's worth it.

A lovely and challenging film, wonderfully acted. Complex people leading complex lives and wondering what it all means. Past experiences intrude and haunt present relationships. Lovers caress the present, yet are conflicted by their historic obligations to others and to the values they carry into the relationship. But this is a movie in which you understand the electric attraction of these two characters, who should never have even spoken, let alone found each others. And--I think this is simply an amazing bit of craftsmanship in this day of overblown special effects--words of love and conflict are spoken in iambic pentameter so seamlessly that the viewer barely is aware of it. Not many films are so successfully erotic and political at the same time. It is a gem.