Directors: Donnellan, Nick Ormerod.
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci, Colm Meaney.
Rating: M
2 stars (out of 5)
No doubt designed to capitalise on the star rating of Twilight's Robert Pattinson, Bel Ami has a great support cast, all of whom seem to struggle with Pattinson's aloof excuse for acting.
Georges Duroy (Pattinson) is a French soldier recently returned to Paris from military service in Algeria.
Tired of his impoverished existence, a chance meeting with a former military colleague gives him an opportunity to crack high society as a journalist. The trouble is, Duroy is for all intents and purposes illiterate. With nothing going for him other than his looks, he callously sets about seducing the influential women who pull the strings of their politician husbands.
On the strength of plot summary alone, Bel Ami should be a dead cert.
Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci and Kristen Scott Thomas all turn in great performances. It's Pattinson's lack of emotional engagement that generally deflates the good work done around him. Perhaps some of the blame should lie with the directors, who seem infatuated with lingering close-ups, but watching Pattinson stumble from one romantic interlude to the next with all the panache of a punch-drunk boxer is tiresome.
Pattinson's character has the potential to be a riveting rogue and in the hands of an accomplished actor, rather than just a face with lines, Bel Ami would be worth a second look, rather than an early exit.
Best thing: Colm Meaney's bit parts.
Worst thing: Robert Pattinson's struggle with the whole acting thing.
See it with: Any fan of the Twilight saga.
- Written by Mark Orton.
