As Good As It Gets

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Pretentious drivel. This film tries too hard to congratulate itself on being artsy. Artsy, but not very entertaining. We get to watch as Sally Potter is one woman-does-most. Finenking the whole time about how OLD she looks. The film is autobiographical, but honestly, her life, or this part of it anyway, is just not interesting enough to form the entire content of a film. The photography (black and white) is attractive and some of the dancing, as well. But a little goes a long way.We had a lot of fun laughing at the (probably) unintentional comedy at the beginning. I won't spoil it for you, but there are ladies in ballgowns and a legless midget, and you get to watch some of them getting killed. These scenes are happening in the woman's imagination, as she is making up the script of her film. All of this doesn't seem to have very much to do with the rest of the film, but this is as good as it gets.

The Tango lesson is an absolute horror. You either have to love tango or the actors or have brought a book or an extremely interesting date, otherwise this movie is unsupportable.My suggestion is to buy a book or go see another movie, in any case, do not rent or go watch this one, unless you have any of the above qualities. If you fail to qualify for any of these, please rest assured that your evening will most likely be spoiled like mine was some years ago. It is beyond comparison with anything I ever have seen before or since.I never left a cinema before the end of a movie but I couldn't wait until the end of this one. You have been warned..

My wife and I are Tango lovers! This movie takes you to a level of dance that is truly entrancing. The scenes are mesmerizing as the dance steps unfold. We have rented the video several times AFTER we experienced the movie at a local Cincinnati "art theater". Sally is wonderful! We agree that the plot of the movie takes the viewer into a secondary premise. There is the mystique of the various models who have bright color gowns or dresses on them. Then, the quick segue from dance to model can be confusing for the viewer. We felt that the overall sensations of the movie were true dancing, and the will of a person trapped in the routine of daily job expectations can drag one down into depression and ennui. The reason for Sally's release to explore tango was very realistic...bad flooring in her flat. The movie came back to that premise several times to keep us in the loop of her forays into dance and Holiday. This movie contains development and climax. We enjoyed the character growth and the intricacies of the finer dance steps of Argentinian Tango. Bravo to Sally Porter!

This uncommon film will test your ability to perceive at different levels, on the surface it only portraits what it seems to be a weak plot and the subplot of a movie within a movie, but that are not the points of this movie in my estimation. In another level there are the metaphorical aspects of the Tango (being a dance form born in the gutter motivated by raw instincts and erotic sensuality) versus the all unending male/female quest for love and understanding.This is not the typical follow me through the plot and visuals movie, but instead is about an atmosphere of sound and silent body language, spoken through the haunting sounds of a Bandoneon, lost in the sorrow of its own world. The poetic images and symbolisms are all there for those who can see them, but you need a sensitive and willing heart to find them. Like one of the characters says in the movie `You have to have suffered a lot to understand Tango'. Those who are still too attached to their egos will only see the surface, you have to let yourself go and then you will see.This microcosm of the world of relationships is enveloped in ravishing music and dance, all this tinted with subtle erotic overtones. It is not about the obvious, it is about the inner beauty or not of its characters, and their quest for communicating and understanding love. I find Sally Potter to be the perfect match in every way to Pablo Verón character's ego and abilities. This is a lesson indeed to teach those who live only in the shallow surface of today's society, that real emotions run deeper than the tan of their skin or their "look". To love and to feel is hard work and not just good looks. And to understand a "Tango" you have to dance it, and here they dance it as best as I have seen it on film. And you have to ask yourself. When was the last time you truly held or were held in some one arms in a dance floor at such close distance with such passion? (And I don't mean sexuality as it is imposed commercially in everything now a days).This is a dance of kindled spirits and of two hearts who are emphatic on their pains and joys in their path through life, which see the world so differently but are ultimately united by their passion for the Tango, and to me, here is the real lesson. As it has been said, `You really need two to Tango!' and especially when the lesson is about love.