Memorergi good film but with many flaws

Micransix Crappy film

Clarissa Mora The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

mukava991 This dramatization of about 17 years in the mid-life of novelist Ayn Rand focuses on her intimate relationship with one of her much younger disciples, one Nathaniel Blumenthal, who changed his last name to Branden (get it? – bRANDen) after establishing a platonic friendship with the author. Eventually the relationship evolved into a love affair with the full if resentful knowledge of their mutual spouses. Although the heart of the film is the love relationship we are also introduced to the social circle of the controversial Rand whose novels featured larger-than-life heroes whose glaring individuality and egoism pit them against the common mass, or "second handers" as Rand called them; she elevated personal selfishness to a high ethical principle, and revered the capitalist way of life. The film is set during the period when Rand was writing her last mammoth novel, ATLAS SHRUGGED, which she believed would rock the world and spark a revolution of human creativity and a rebirth of individualism and entrepreneurial, creative spirit. When it became a mere best seller she was shattered and in her demoralized state allowed the young Blumenthal to influence her next career move by founding the Objectivist movement which carried her message in the form of a periodic newsletter and public meetings. Through the device of capturing snatches of conversation at dinners and small meetings as well as question-and-answer sessions at public gatherings, the film takes the time to explore the mind-set of the Rand followers, including the ugly confrontations within the innermost circle as members are emotionally humiliated for not uttering the correct Objectivist formulations in deadly group meetings in Rand's smoke-filled living room. The cult atmosphere is well captured. But the "passion" here is heavily on the sexual-romantic side and lacking in the arena of philosophy. The makers of this film probably felt the TV audience wouldn't sit still for too much cerebral content so some may wonder why people felt so strongly about Rand that they would attach themselves to her the way her followers did.But the real power in this TV movie comes across in the four central performances by Helen Mirren as Ayn Rand, Peter Fonda as her passive, dispirited, alcoholic husband, the always excellent Eric Stolz as "Branden" and Julie Delpy as his long-suffering wife. Each of these excellent actors has mastered the art of "less is more" in conveying depth of emotion with a minimum of hamminess and take the viewer inside the cult mentality. Rand could easily have been depicted as a monster but Mirren and the screenwriters take care to show us her vulnerable side. You have to admire her whether you agree with her or not. She was a tragic figure worth exploring. Her novels still sell in the hundreds of thousands of copies many decades after their initial release because there is a kernel of truth in what she wrote, something about the value of the individual and the beauty of reason. What she made of those truths is debatable.

airfoyle I thought Helen Mirren, Eric Stoltz, and Julie Delpy did a great job, especially Helen Mirren, who can convey such shades of emotion so seemingly effortlessly. The movie held my attention because I kept wondering what she would do next, especially when she was seducing a much younger man.Unfortunately, she failed to make us understand why Ayn Rand had such a hold on (some) people. I blame the script for this, I guess, but the writers may not have understood her success, such as it was, themselves. The places where we come closest to getting it are the scenes with Rand in front of large audiences, where she displays wit and aplomb. In the scenes where she is dominating a small group of regular disciples, it's hard for the viewer to understand what hold she had on them.Other remarks: Julie Delpy's American accent wobbles occasionally, but Mirren's Russian accent is great. Peter Fonda is in this movie, which normally keeps me away, but his natural woodenness fits his character in this movie.

enthusiast WARNING! POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!This is not the best movie or work made about Ayn Rand. That is because it comes from the viewpoint of a person who is (was) personally bitter about the founder of the Objectivist school of philosophy. She does not see the entire point about this movie as she is obviously quite bitter, and such people quite frequently are not very objective and miss their own shortcomings. The sad fact is that had she provided sexual fulfillment for her husband; he certainly would never had strayed from her. Ayn was having problems being fulfilled by her husband, Frank (probably due to his age). Ayn soon discovered that Barbara was not fulfilling the sexual needs of her young husband; therefore as Barbara seemed not to care about her husband's sexual satisfaction and Ayn needed a young man, Ayn quite rationally reasoned there was justification for the affair. Controversial, yes, but I do not believe that it should be immediately condemned. If Barbara had really wanted her husband she should have immediately (upon hearing of the proposal ) called Ayn a "bitch" and grabbed her own husband and said "Honey, let's get out of here. I love you too much to share you with this woman and I will do the best I can from now on to satisfy you." As Barbara did not do so I can only conclude that she did not actually love her husband (enough) and should stop complaining about what happened afterwards. Ladies, stand by your man!

yossarian100 A soap opera about Barbara Branden, even with the lovely Julie Delpy doing the honors, is not very interesting unless one makes Barbara Branden the main character. But, this is The Passion of Ayn Rand, which of course it isn't. Even though Helen Mirren absolutely nails the part and does a great job of capturing the image of Ayn Rand, we just don't get much of a movie here and the whole production smacks of 'made for tv.' I've always been a big fan of Ayn Rand, even though I'm a liberal, and I guess I hoped for something with a little more quality about her writing, philosophy, and the unusual woman she actually was, you know, the passion of Ayn Rand.