Seraherrera
The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity
Robert Joyner
The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one
Edwin
The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
Dana
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
hschiller-229-850750
I love this film. Every shot feels effortlessly dense. In every shot, one can see texture, whether it is in the landscape of a bedroom or a hotel room, or the structure of a man or woman's face. The cinematography is dark and gloomy. The story, as you likely know, as you have either seen the film, or have read the IMDb summary, is about Claus von Bulow, who has been accused of attempting to murder his wife twice, both times sending her into a coma, the first coma which lasts only a few hours, the second which lasted until 2008 and turned Sunny Bulow into a vegetable. The story is, as all good stories are, so multilayered that it seems to evolve as time goes along. Unlike most films made nowadays, and indeed most stories told in history, it is not linear and obvious. The story threatens to go in any direction at any time. All of the characters seem human, balancing on the line of their own soul and being, reaching out toward other people or retracting into themselves. The Main characters are Claus Von Bulow, Sunny Bulow, and Alan Dershowitz. They are each played by great actors. The film is expertly directed and represents each of these characters separate lives. The viewer sees each character as sympathetic but realizes at certain points throughout the film that the characters may have reached a turning point and made a bad choice or perverted their hearts goodness and done wrong towards another. The film has a lot of subtext. Though the characters do come out and state what they are thinking at various points, for the most part the film shows, not tells. Although all the actors do good jobs in this film, the crown must be placed on the head of Jeremy Irons, one of the greatest actors in history. Irons is often mocked for being very dense and inanimated, I personally think this is because most film watchers are used to actors who are less subtle and less skilled than Irons. His subtlety is extraordinary. This performance may be the most subtle in film history. The performance is mysterious and dark, unexpressibly creepy, but also sympathetic. At one point int he film(don't worry, this isn't a spoiler),Claus von Bulow leans slightly forward in a car, with his head almost completely in shadow and responds to Alan Dershowitz claim "You are a strange man," with the words "You have no idea." Irons is just brilliant. His performance must be seen. The film as a whole explores many theme, favoring emotion and thematic depth over bare bones plot. One of the more interesting themes is the idea that every moment is in the now, and so every human being is freshly born every minute and so they must be forgiven for wrong things they have done in the past. Another theme is the idea that no one truly knows another person, that all people have secrets, hidden characteristics and emotions that are hidden even to themselves as well as to other people. This is the theme I fell that this patient film expresses best. It is well paced and allows you to feel every scene before moving on to the next. The film also explores the importance of humor and the need for humor in humanity. This provides great unexpected moments throughout the film. This is one of my favorite films in history. It is so patient in the camera-work and performances. It feels like more than an interpretation. It feels like a reality or at least a possibility. This is a rare achievement. It is an uncategorizable experience, a great work of art, and a film of astonishing depth. It is one of the few that reaches the true depth of the soul. it does not only confirm something that other films have told us. It twists and turns, until the viewer and the film and the characters are all one. An excellent film.
itamarscomix
Reversal of Fortune is a dramatization of a real-life attempted murder case, as documented in the book by the same title which was written by Alan M. Dershowitz, defense attorney to the main suspect, Claus von Bülow. The film works as a solid little courtroom drama with an intriguing story, a clever script and an impressive cast; but it doesn't go the extra mile into something more than a daytime TV movie. It tries hard to break the mold - most notably, by having much of the film narrated by the victim - but at heart, it remains a very plain legal drama; and emotionally, it maintains a dry, distant coldness that doesn't allow the viewer to care about anything that's going on. That feeling of emotional disconnection leads to a film with a steady pace, with no highs and lows, and with no real climaxes or tension. In other words - rather dull, and unless you really pay attention to the details of the case, there's nothing much to grab onto.It's also worth mentioning that the film's poster, as well as Jeremy Irons's Oscar win, is more than a bit misleading, because Irons and Glenn Close aren't really the main characters, though the story revolves around them; and in fact Irons's performance is completely over-the-top and certainly not up to the standards he set two years earlier with his masterful work on Dead Ringers. The majority of the film revolves around Ron Silver, who plays Dershowitz himself; and while Silver's performance is understated and quiet, it's also the strongest one in the film. But it's just not enough to give it any emotional or moral weight and to keep the whole thing together, because the viewer doesn't care about Dershowitz winning or losing the trial any more then they do about Von Bülow being found guilty or not.
Claudio Carvalho
On 27 December 1979, the millionaire Sunny von Bülow (Glenn Close) is found in coma for the second time in her bathroom with an overdose of insulin. Her European husband Claus von Bülow (Jeremy Irons) is convicted for attempted murder of Sunny, but he hires the expensive Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) to revert his sentence. Dershowitz teams up with his students to collect evidences to disprove the accusation and prove the innocence of Claus. "Reversal of Fortune" is the dramatization of a true story based on the book of Alan M. Dershowitz. The originality of the screenplay is that it details the work of Dershowitz and his students to disprove the prosecution and the trial itself is just glanced. I do not like this type of inconclusive films based on true stories since the truth is not disclosed. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "O Reverso da Fortuna" ("The Reversal of the Fortune")
Jackson Booth-Millard
I had mainly heard of this film because of the leading actor winning an Oscar, and based on a true story it sounded interesting and certainly worth a try. Basically Claus Von Bülow (Oscar and Golden Globe winning Jeremy Irons) is accused of attempting to murder his wife Martha 'Sunny' (Glenn Close), who has gone into a deep coma. Claus has hired brilliant Professor of law, Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver), to try and get him acquitted after being found guilty on two convictions. Through a series of flashbacks you find out how Claus and Sunny met each other, how their marriage was slowly breaking down, and a few flashes of how the accused incident could have gone. The only problem with Claus hiring Dershowitz is that he and his are students are confident that he is guilty, and they are actually trying to prove his innocence, and unbelievably, they succeeded! The end text says that Claus lived a reasonably normal life after he got off, and Sunny never woke from her coma. Also starring The Hand That Rocks the Cradle's Annabella Sciorra as Sarah, Uta Hagen as Maria - Sunny's Personal Maid, Fisher Stevens as David Marriott, Jack Gilpin as Peter MacIntosh - Dershowitz's Student Staff, Christine Baranski as Andrea Reynolds - Claus' Girlfriend, Stephen Mailer as Elon Dershowitz, Christine Dunford as Ellen and Desperate Housewives' Felicity Huffman as Minnie - Dershowitz's Student Staff. Irons makes an interesting performance with a slight German twang in his accent, Close (also narrating) does well in her flashback sequences, and Silver is pretty good, it is an interesting story worth watching. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Director for Barbet Schroeder and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium, and it was nominated the Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Very good!