comment #1

NYCritic says ...

Well it's quite interesting that the reviewer mentions the "lesbian-stalker angle" since both Marber and Heller have been going around with the film and saying that Dench's character isn't a lesbian -- she's just an immature older woman! I have no idea why they are saying this in the Q.& A.'s following screenings but that's their stand. It's quite strange, if you ask me.

I had a bad reaction to the film because I felt it did what the Variety reviewer mentioned in terms of playing up that aspect of the story. To me, it was another heinous depiction by a film of a gay or lesbian person. Hearing the authors infuriated me further and I've totally turned off the movie as a result. I can not in good conscience recommend it for that reason.

comment #2

erniesouchak says ...

I wish the movie were this good. The tone is all OVER the place, and the whole enterprise comes off like something that doesn't know what it wants to be.

comment #3

donnyboy says ...

To NY CRITIC:

When I watch a movie and the "bad guy" is named Don. I do not take this as an indictment of all the Don's across the world as being "evil".

It is a singular MOVIE. It is not Universal. Nothing is.

comment #4

Hallick says ...

"I had a bad reaction to the film because I felt it did what the Variety reviewer mentioned in terms of playing up that aspect of the story. To me, it was another heinous depiction by a film of a gay or lesbian person."

In what way do you mean the depiction is heinous? I don't want to jump to the conclusion that you're just being politically correct and talking about a gay character who does bad or stupid things. Because the only reason to object to a gay character acting in that way is if the film portrays their homosexuality as the root of their badness; which would be as absurd as blaming, say, the heterosexuality of Matt Damon's character in "The Departed" for his corruption and wrongdoings.

comment #5

NYCritic says ...

Understood Hallick, but the depiction of gay and lesbian characters in mainstream movies is slim to none. We get tragic loners and guys bashed to death (as in BROKEBACK) or crazy lesbians with agendas (as in BASIC INSTINCT and now NOTES ON A SCANDAL) -- except the writers are now trying to distance themselves from this by saying, "oh no, we don't mean the character to be a lesbian." Well, Judi sure as hell played her like a closeted lesbian and since she essentially blackmails Blanchett's character, there will be audience members who will think of the predatory aspects of the character as being representative of all lesbians.

I agree, I would have no problem with the Dench character being identified as a lesbian and her doing bad things provided there were many other films to offset that depiction. But let's be realistic: very few mainstream movies or top tier independent films contain gay characters with positive characteristics. It's still safe for Hollywood to assign the villainous type roles to gay men and lesbians because they can get away with it. There's hints that Dench's character is a psycho and she's clearly meant to be a lesbian -- there's even a scene that more or less confirms that -- so with the writers now backtracking for whatever reasons -- I have a real problem with it.

It's my interpretation of what I saw on screen and read in the printed screenplay.

comment #6

James Leer says ...

WHAT??? She is so totally a lesbian. I don't know how they can claim any different, did they watch the same film I did?