La grande traversée

I subscribed to HBOMax just to watch this movie and I was sorely disappointed. I was so looking forward to this wonderful cast and I knew that most of the dialogue was adlibbed but it was almost like these women couldn't hold a conversation. I watched 30 minutes and gave up; I'll give it another try to finish it. And after browsing the offerings on HBOMax, it doesn't really appeal to me, so will cancel that. And probably will cancel regular HBO.

Not so much a movie as it was an outline for a movie. I loved the premise and the glimpses of character we see, but the improvised rambling felt like aimless meandering. The viewer is left feeling frustrated and lost. The movie would have been so much more interesting with a defined structure. I loved Bergan's cynical and sassy character, and her trolling for rich men on the cruise could have been very funny with some well-written gags. Wiest's character is selfless and passionate, and we get a few small indications of how that impulse manifested itself in her youth, but how much more interesting would it have been had we seen perhaps how her giving nature affected her life (both the good and the bad). Streep plays a writer whose work delves deeply into others' lives, and at the same time, she is unable to connect with anyone. Is she just self-absorbed, or does she yearn for human interaction? I wish we could have seen more of that struggle within her. And most of all, we never really find out exactly what Streep's character has written about Bergan's character that made Bergan's husband divorce her so many years ago. It's hinted at, and I think I sort of figured it out. But that information needed to be spelled out for the viewer. There's also another character I would have loved to see more of. A highly successful mystery writer is also on the ship. Streep wants to pooh-pooh him as a hack, but he's actually thoughtful in terms of his work and his ability to "read" other people. There's a scene in which Streep is giving a talk on board, and the mystery writer asks a question about one of her books that makes it clear that he deeply respects her writing, and you can see Streep's heart melt with joy at being acknowledged. It is one of the only really moving moments of the film. Oh yeah, there's a subplot with Streep's nephew and the employee from her publisher assigned to her. Completely useless. What a disappointment! What a waste!

What. A. Fascinating. Film. Steven Soderbergh has outdone himself with such a fascinating, rich and unique film. What I found so unusual is that the screenplay consisted of only basic outlines for scenes. The dialogue was entirely improvised by the cast, which is just incredible. I've seen this happen before, and usually to a less successful end. I'll interpret this to mean, that Steven Soderbergh presented the cast with a basic plot - and it was up to them to interpret their characters and roll with it... which is perhaps why this film is so unique. Each character was so rich, so human... so truly complicated and imperfect, it was a wonder to watch. It's this style of film making that I love, because although a story has been conjured up, you're really leaving a lot to the imagination of your entire cast - not just a handful of producers and a writer sitting in a room. Each character was truly able to come into their own. The cinematography and editing was, as is standard with Soderbergh films - done by Steven Soderbergh himself, under pseudonyms (in this case Peter Andrews, and Mary Ann Bernard). So although the dialogue was rich and diverse, the architecture, and physical structure of the film was directly tied to Soderbergh. There were a few of the scenes that I wish lasted longer, the visuals were simply so stunning I wanted to linger over them and take everything in for as long as I could... which for a film directed almost entirely on The Queen Mary 2 - is an exceptional feat. Another significant stand-out for me, was the score. Thomas Newman (Tolkien, 1917, Skyfall, The Help). Newman is a well versed composer, with dozens of well known films under his belt. The score was rich, delicate and unique - inspired by vintage jazz. The acting, given that the script was non-existent was truly, truly inspiring. Meryl Streep - as always is a visionary actress to behold. Lucas Hedges was a constant source of admiration and bewilderment, mostly because his character was continuously so sweet. Dianne Wiest and Candice Bergen were hilarious and gentle, giving very intimate performances. Gemma Chan was a stand-out as well, delivering a really intriguing performance that made you question the character, whilst also caring about what they were going to do next. I can't wait to rewatch this film with a fresh new perspective, keeping in mind that there was no script; and that the performances were all inspired by the cast.

If you're looking for some witty banter this is not it. With these three great actresses you would expect a lot more. The whole storyline is a mishmash of thoughts and ideas. Nothing flows. And the ending leaves you with "what did I just watch". If you don't like it after 30 minutes. Give up. It doesn't get better.

Colossal disappointment, especially considering the acting talent. Seems like they threw out the script at some point and decided to "let them all talk." That would explain the many painful silences (none more painful than the final scene) and the tendency of the actors to talk over each other. The most meaningful dialog in the movie-between Meryl and Gemma-occurred without sound, but they really nailed the facial expressions.

I really enjoyed this film. I loved watching Streep, Bergen and Wiest. A lot of dialogue seemed improvised so there was a couple moments of awkwardness. This is a modest film. It's never quite predictable. It has little things to say about getting older, friendships and the fickleness of fate. If you like movies with thrills and salaciousness you may be bored. I have to add, the music soundtrack is fantastic and helps set the mood. Thumbs up!

I'm not sure if I liked the movie as much as I wanted to. The story sounded more interesting than it actually is. I catched myself a little bored at moments, waiting through the whole movie for something really exciting to happen.. but nope. It could have been better though if it wasn't for Lucas Hedges' annoyingly-forced acting.

Where was the comedy? Meryl Streep acted like she was bored and inconvenienced throughout, Wiest and Bergen were underused and the ending will leave you hugely dissatisfied after almost two hours. Only great thing about this film were the interior shots of the Queen Mary 2.

It's beautiful and well crafted. The script is brilliant and it's the strongest element in the film, it is full of nice and interesting conversations as well. Also the beautiful well written story unfolds smoothly and beautifully. Performances are solid by Meryl Streep, Lucas Hedges and everyone else. The film also has some really beautiful shots and sceneries. But it's not everyone's cup of tea because it's slow-paced and a bit long. If you love this genre you'd highly enjoy it but if not you'd feel bored.

Knowing ahead of watching that the dialog was totally unscripted and improvised I found myself appreciating the true art form by the actors. Knowing how petrified they all were during the shoot, it's never apparent from their seamless performances. They were all given a frame to stay in and also an ending to each scene. The rest is them and their own words and reactions. Shot in only 8 days, the film is a triumph of modern day filmmaking. My only criticism was the ambient lighting was at times distracting.