Memorable, crazy movie

How sad is this?

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

it is portrait of a period. correct, not bad as adaptation but soulless. only images, frozen acting, precise colors, interesting costumes. the specific note - fear to give force of all. Kathy BBates is amazing but it is not a surprise. Rupert Friend explores, in smart manner, each possibility of his character. Michelle Pfeiffer is almost a beautiful statue because her role seems be a straitjacket. and the problem is the subject - an effervescent universe who is reduced at few lines. sure, it is director choice to use only a sketch, with few delicate colors who reflects the spirit of period, to suggest a frame more than picture and his work is well. but the novel presents more possibilities. so, best choice after its end remains to expect a better version .

A film that fails to ignite much interest. Not for the first time in recent memory Pfeiffer plays the older woman in love with a younger man, in this case one much younger. Scorsese and Pfeiffer covered some of this same territory in The Age of Innocence, and to much better effect. She is a courtesan, he the son of another famous courtesan. He has led an indolent life, spoiled throughout his entire existence. As a result he has grown to manhood completely divorced from any feelings for anyone. Instead he allows himself to be forced into a hastily arranged marriage by his ambitious mother, to a young woman he neither loves nor cares for. He is indifferent to his wife and drifts back and forth between the two women.The script is pretty nondescript in places. Pfeiffer has a few decent lines and still radiates enough screen presence to carry some scenes, and Bates matches her well. Most of the problems with this film are based on the male character Cheri (Friend). He is left with too little too late for us to care about his fate. lnstead he allows himself to have his opinions formed for him by his mother and and Lea who also does much of what passes for thinking on his behalf as well. He is married off to a woman he doesn't love, and then proceeds to drift between her and his lover without ever showing any real sense of commitment to either. Due to the limitations of the script and his character, he comes across as only half formed, and too many scenes end with him staring blankly into the camera, looking quite vacuous, and a penny for his thoughts would be an understatement of inflation. lt is not easy to know which audience this movie is aimed at. It is not quite glamorous enough to be mainstream nor is it memorable enough to be art-house. As a result it meanders along without ever really being anything more than an exercise in self indulgence. That is a pity as l was expecting a fair bit more from those involved.

The basis of this delight is adapted from the novels by Colette, Colette wrote about courtesans (influential ladies of the evening in times gone by), We all do remember GIGI.In the late 1980's Dangerous Liasons was made into an excellent film, (basically same subject). This award winning movie was written & directed by the same team that created CHERI, Christopher Hampton & Stephen Frears. These 2 talents have many other fine films in there resumes. Michelle Pfeiffer who was in Dangerous Liasons, is the star of Cheri.They created one more fine film.She portrays an older courtesan in love with a much younger man CHERI. Michele is superb in the role, it is possible that she can get an Oscar nomination for it.A newcomer to films Rupert Friend a handsome young man willing to live off an older women.This is until he meets this sweet innocent young lady. Felicity Jones does this role and does it quite well.Cathy Bates is Cheri's domineering mother.This is a hard role to play well & Cathy does well.The period is prior to the start of WW 1; the sets, costumes are excellent.This is a first class film & should be seen by all who like first class movies.Ratings: ***1/2 (out of 4) 94 points (out of 100) IMDb 9 (out of 10)

This movie comes from several directions, but fails in almost all of them. It is a period film, showing us how people were at that time. OK, I can see some clothes, some specific behaviours, some cars, but that's about it; there is nothing that brings novelty or interest. Then there is the romantic side. Seasoned sex partners fall in love and then, faced with the choice of losing their image or losing their infatuation, they oscillate between, making the characters human, but the plot really boring. And then there is the Michelle Pfeiffer angle, but she is truly too old for it.Bottom line: Dangerous Liaisons did all that this film tried to and a lot better. It actually worked enough for a high school remake. This one is plain boring.