Tulip fever had a lot going on that it lost it's essence
MOVIE INFO Title: Tulip Fever Rating: R (for sexual content and nudity) Genre: Drama, Romance Casts: Alicia Vikander, Cara Delevingne, Dane DeHaan, Christoph Waltz, Judi Dench, Jack O'Connell, Zach Galifianakis, Holliday Grainger, Matthew Morrison, Tom Hollander, David Harewood, Kevin McKidd, Sebastian Armesto, Douglas Hodge, Joanna Scanlan Directed By: Justin Chadwick Written By: Tom Stoppard In Theaters: Sep 1, 2017 Limited On Disc/Streaming: Nov 28, 2017 Runtime: 107 minutes Studio: The Weinstein Company Rating: 4/10
Adapted from a novel by Deborah Moggach, Tulip fever probably should have remained a novel. It is a story set in Amsterdam in the 1630's, when flower bulbs were driving people crazy as a result of it's value. Rich and poor would bid their treasures just to own the bulbs, A Tulip.
An orphan girl Sophia (Alicia Vikander) was sold into marriage to a rich merchant Cornelius Sandvoort (Christoph Waltz) for the sole purpose of making babies which she failed at. Apparently Cornelius lost his first wife and children, now he needed an heir to inherit his heir but Sophia couldn't bear children. Though Cornelius cared for her, he was soo engrossed with getting an heir that he neglected his wife. Feeling bitter and unloved, Sophia's only friend was her Maid, Maria. Unlike her mistress, Maria was happily in love with a fish monger and times were good for her.
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In order to leave a legacy behind, while he awaits an heir, Cornelius decided to engage the services of a painter to draw him and his beautiful wife so that they will be remembered when they are gone.
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A young struggling painter Jan was commissioned to the job, and upon setting his eyes on Sophia, he fell in love with her. The two began an affair and around that time Maria got pregnant for her fish monger, who left without a trace. In order to give Cornelius an heir, the two woman decided to fake the pregnancy on Sophia, meanwhile Jan got into the Tulip business in order to make money and run away with Sophia.
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There was just so many sub plots, making it difficult to ascertain what the main story is. This tulip Fever is a great story but Chadwick tells it clumsily. With all the acts fighting for a screen time, the protagonist can't be ascertained. It's a director's decision to tell a story the way he desires but his choice of supporting roles is clumsy, the perverter Dr Sorgh and Gerrit the drunk. I get that he wanted to add a little humour, but the characters ended up looking stupid. Though we saw Jan and Sophia in bed and naked, there was no passion in the two, none in their eyes or in their acts. This is probably worst performance from Alicia and Dane. The movie also cited Judi Dench, she played the role of The Abess of St. Ursula, a nun, who takes care of orphaned children and also grows the Tulip as a side business. Alicia Vikander, Christoph Waltz and Judi Dench are Oscar winners, but unfortunately 3 Oscar winners can't save an already messed up movie. The movie was also edited poorly, the scenes didn't flow at all. It looked like several pieces of clothing that were joined together with a blunt needle. While being carried away/fascinated by a scene, it just gets dragged from under your feet and serves another. The other characters bidding for the Tulip in a place that look like a motel, looked like they are in another movie all together. The sub plots were not arranged, the tone settings didn't suit the movie, plus there are no lessons to be learnt, the movie was just jumbled together to deliver a pot of mess. The only appealing thing in the movie is the costume design, settings and cinematography.
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