On B List of Movie Reviews
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The Bostonians (1984)
Rate:
2
Viewed:
6/25
6/25:
As a fan of Merchant Ivory pictures, I find The Bostonians a huge letdown.
When the opening credits reeled off the names of the B-list cast which included three Oscar winners, I was
like, "Really?" I had hoped for the best, but nope. The movie died ten minutes into it, and the rest of the
way became an impossible bore, no matter how great the costumes and cinematography could be. Where was the
lesbian love the entire time?
It all starts with the lifeless script by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala that's based on Henry James' novel. As a result,
there's nothing the thespians could do to give the film a pulse. I have no idea if it's among the author's
weakest works due to not having read the book. There's only so much feminism I can take in one sitting.
Meanwhile, I don't see why people have to beat up Christopher Reeve for being wooden or give an Oscar nomination
to Vanessa Redgrave. But I have to point out the miscasting of Madeleine Potter (who?) as Verena Tarrant. If she's
supposed to be desirable to both sexes, namely Basil Ransom and Olive Chancellor, it's wholly unconvincing.
Instead, the filmmakers should've gotten Bernadette Peters.
All in all, the Merchant Ivory team has to stick with a British-majority cast as long as the screenplay is
strong enough to warrant a film.