I'm usually pretty on the ball about plot twists, but whether it was a lack of emotional or intellectual engagement, I just didn't get involved enough to follow it properly.
No, I can definitely see this. There was definitely an emotional distance to the film, although I think that was calculated. There were few moments of passion that engaged both senses: Peter breaking up with his boyfriend to ensure his boyfriend's wellbeing was almost entirely muted, Ricky's retelling of his meeting with the Russian (?) woman/defector played as a bit of coercion, Bill running over to Jim's flat to supposedly do something official but actually just looking to hide any evidence of their relationship had nothing by Colin Firth's rather funny pained face in one or two shots to convey anything, and we never saw the face of George's Ann (did she actually exist?).
And, honestly IMO there wasn't so much of a plot "twist" as there was just a reveal. How were we supposed to figure out that Bill was the double agent outside of Control's code names and the one bit of recorded dialogue about "His Majesty"? I thought that to be a little lazy.
I just found myself liking the pretty, and that kept me going. After that woman's complaint that it was too complex I went in looking for a labyrinthian flick. Liked what I got, though I can see from where the detractors are coming.
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Date: 2011-12-11 04:14 am (UTC)No, I can definitely see this. There was definitely an emotional distance to the film, although I think that was calculated. There were few moments of passion that engaged both senses: Peter breaking up with his boyfriend to ensure his boyfriend's wellbeing was almost entirely muted, Ricky's retelling of his meeting with the Russian (?) woman/defector played as a bit of coercion, Bill running over to Jim's flat to supposedly do something official but actually just looking to hide any evidence of their relationship had nothing by Colin Firth's rather funny pained face in one or two shots to convey anything, and we never saw the face of George's Ann (did she actually exist?).
And, honestly IMO there wasn't so much of a plot "twist" as there was just a reveal. How were we supposed to figure out that Bill was the double agent outside of Control's code names and the one bit of recorded dialogue about "His Majesty"? I thought that to be a little lazy.
I just found myself liking the pretty, and that kept me going. After that woman's complaint that it was too complex I went in looking for a labyrinthian flick. Liked what I got, though I can see from where the detractors are coming.