Genius
Genius
PG-13 | 10 June 2016 (USA)
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New York in the 1920s. Max Perkins, a literary editor is the first to sign such subsequent literary greats as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. When a sprawling, chaotic 1,000-page manuscript by an unknown writer falls into his hands, Perkins is convinced he has discovered a literary genius.

Reviews
Matrixiole

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

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Huievest

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

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Plustown

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

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Invaderbank

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

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WRATH RANNDALL

Gay it up and call it art thank you britian....Gay it up and call it art thank you britian....Gay it up and call it art thank you britian....Gay it up and call it art thank you britian....Gay it up and call it art thank you britian....Gay it up and call it art thank you britian....Gay it up and call it art thank you britian....vvGay it up and call it art thank you britian....Gay it up and call it art thank you britian....Gay it up and call it art thank you britian.... basically that is it

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HotToastyRag

With an incredible cast of Colin Firth, Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, Guy Pearce, Laura Linney, and Dominic West, be prepared for some wonderful acting in Genius. It's a movie about the real-life editor Max Perkins who worked with famous authors, but while a few scenes touch on his relationships with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, the majority of the film is devoted to his work with Thomas Wolfe.While there is a lot to appreciate in this movie, namely Colin Firth's emotion and Jude Law's energy, I couldn't ignore the overall feel that John Logan's script didn't quite know what direction it wanted to take. Since the film is about a very wordy writer and the quest to cut down his manuscript before publication, perhaps Logan purposely wrote his script with that tone, so that the screenplay mirrored the plot's difficulty. If it was done on purpose, it was very clever and well done. If it wasn't, then the storyline coincidentally explores many different avenues without taking the time to fully finish or flesh out any of them.There's a particular scene that I remember most vividly: Colin and Jude and working to cut down his manuscript, and a passage is read aloud about the protagonist falling in love at first sight. He describes the woman's appearance, and it's so beautifully poetic, I was almost moved to tears. At the end of the scene, Jude agrees to cut the entire description, leaving only, "Eugene saw a woman. Her eyes were blue. So quickly did he fall for her that no one in the room even heard the sound." After hearing the original prose, I was so disappointed! The scene was supposed to illustrate the fantastic working relationship between the two, and to show what a great editor Colin is, but I would have rather seen Jude's works published in its entirety, split into many volumes. The loss of such beautiful words made me lose my appetite for the rest of the film.If you're a sucker for 1930s period pieces and love the cast, you'll probably be entertained by Genius. It's not a film I want to watch again, but I do like to appreciate good acting. Although, Jude Law's over-the-top accent made me think he was faking his identity and was somehow trying to scam Colin Firth. And Guy Pearce's depressive portrayal of F. Scott Fitzgerald isn't at all how the author's fans would like to remember him, but there's always Midnight in Paris for a more likable, upbeat interpretation.

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Erik Stuborn

An exceptional film, especially for a first movie by a director who has been a television actor and not too prolific. With several moments of intense emotion perfectly developed and interpreted by the three main actors —Firth, Law and Kidman— that are superb all of them. Precious staging, music, lighting, recreation of the ambient of the beginning of the century and all those words, always those beautiful words, at its right time and in its proper place. Probably, over time, it will become one of the best films of the past year. Also I think every writer should see it.

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alanpgini

Having recently seen and reviewed, "The man who saw infinity", I didn't expect to see another drama biopic so soon, that could come close to equaling it. This one does come close, but doesn't quite swing it. Jude Law is acceptable, but he struggles here in the role of Thomas Wolfe. You get the impression of a vapid man, who could not be close to someone who could have written Wolfe's novels. It gave the impression of an inadequate portrayal. The accent might have been giving him trouble. Wolfe was one of that great generation of American writers, that produced works the like of which will never be seen again. Firth did a great job in the role of Perkins. So much so, that you weren't listening for the British accent. Kidman was good, but her Australian accent was a little too evident, for a realistic portrayal of a Jewish New York woman. This film, along with the infinity movie, gives me hope that we will see more of these drama biopics, in the times to come. If Law's performance had been better, or Kidman's more realistic, I would have rated it higher than an 8 of 10.

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