Fantastic!

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

When a preview begins with "From acclaimed director...", it sets itself up for high expectations. When the next two words are "Sofia Coppola", most people's reaction would rightfully be "huh?".This "acclaimed director" is also the "acclaimed screenwriter" of this cinematic disaster. The screenplay is horrendous. The dialogue is strained and minimal. Characters are not developed. I found myself pitying Kidman and Farrell for having to report to work for such an inept director. Coppola evidently feels that suspense is built by endless shots of trees and the house in mist. Her overuse of this amateur device made me think that at any moment a commercial voice-over would declare "Virginia is For Lovers". And in true Coppola cliche fashion, so many scenes are so weakly illuminated. Straining to see whatever was happening, I actually screamed at my TV, "light the damn scene!".Other than skipping this movie, my advice to Coppola is to get out of the business. You're a disgrace to screenwriters and directors who would have done far better than you with this material. And stop believing your own hype.

This film does have a distinct visual appeal to it, as well as overall solid performances. However, the underlying tension that Coppola I think was going for doesn't really materialize. Instead the viewer is left with feelings of frustration because we know what we're supposed to be feeling, or what we think we should, but the director just can't make it happen. In part this is due to her going for style in place of substance, when these need not be mutually exclusive.

I don't watch new movies often bc I have a baby and am exhausted. But I thought I'd treat myself tonight on HBO Now. Oh my God! What a waste of my time! No character development AT ALL. Why did Colin Farrel leave Dublin? Was he a gardener? Why is Kirsten Dunst fluent in French and wants to get as far away from the school as possible? Why is Elle Fanning such a fluzy? What happened to Nikole Kidman's previous life? This was all such crap. I should've turned it off-but was waiting for the answers to my questions. Then all of a sudden, it was over. Didn't even include cool music soundtrack that Coppola usually pairs. Sucked donkey balls!

My first review though to little, to late. This movie moved me after years of not participating to write a review. Total waste but waited and waited for anything. No redeeming value except maybe a lovely setting around a southern mansion that had me longing for something to tie it to. I have an expensive projector for my 108" screen so dark scenes can be problematic once in a while. This whole movie was in the dark! Ridiculous! Big budget actors that did nothing to come up to their acting skills. I blame the producer for thinking she had something special. No way.