• The first thing to praise is the use of natural lighting and intermixed exterior shots of the garden and house- it’s stunning photography from beginning to end and you need the full film to realize. Every scene is carefully naturally lit with candles and exteriors- it gives you pause at first just how different it is to almost every other film
  • Wonderful use of the landscapes and trees including the Spanish moss like QT in Django unchained
  • The narrative is plain and subtle- you could argue that sofia the screenwriter let down sofia the director. She’s never been one to be huge on narrative but I wish it would either focus on the the characters or more or being just atmospheric and photographically and almost experimentally driven (which it was, and it was well done- but she doesn’t drive it all the way home and go for it on most occasions (final shot and a few others aside). Again, i really loved the film but it seems caught half way between a film like goodbye, dragon inn or the work of Apichatpong Weerasethakul and more of a beautiful southern soapy potboiler (almost like a civil war set gone girl — the siegel/eastwood 1971 version is much more engaging)
  • The cast is good- but it’s not a major achievement for any of the 4 principals (dunst, kidman, farrell, or fanning)
  • Not on par with marie antoinette but the costume work is splendidly done
  • After one blush I wish it were also more of a meditation on celebrity like all over her previous films were- I guess there is a little bit there with the elitism of the women (captured in a picturesque final tracking shot)
  • Minimal score by Phoenix is well done
  • Highly Recommend/ Must-See border