Claudia S
It's not the acting, the choice of actors, or the storyline. It's the lack of understanding about how pacing affects a story—whether in a book or a film. The movie is too slow, dragging on, with every scene feeling as important as the last. This makes the entire experience feel insignificant. One gets bored, and no real emotions are evoked.
This story definitely had the potential to be great, but for the director of this film: please learn the basics of pacing. Proper pacing keeps the story moving, balancing moments of tension, release, and emotional peaks to keep the audience engaged. Without this balance, the movie feels monotonous and emotionally draining.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
03/16/25
Full Review
KEITH B
Eddie Redmayne is becoming incredibly dull. His doe-eyed staring into space schtick is horribly overdone and seems to be his standard modus operandi in pretty much everything he does.
I loved the book, but Redmayne's performance spoils what is, otherwise, a good adaptation.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/10/25
Full Review
Katy P
Absolutely brilliant, I just watched it for the first time. Incredibly emotive, highlights many narratives of those who fought I ww1. Absolutely fell in love with Stephen's character. Beautiful acting.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/02/25
Full Review
Daniel E
Couldn’t get into it extremely boring for a war film. Felt slow and dragged out. Each to their own I guess but this one’s not for me.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/01/25
Full Review
walter m
It is 1916. Like many other young Englishmen, Stephen Wraysford(Eddie Redmayne) is serving his country in the trenches of France. Unlike many others, he is an officer. That entitles him to his own space, along with threatening a soldier with court martial for dereliction of duty and complaining to another officer about his soldiers being used to guard tunnel diggers, especially after one drowns.
It is 1910. 20-year old Stephen has traveled to France to inspect the factory of Rene Azaire(Laurent Lafitte). One day, Stephen spies Rene's younger wife Isabelle(Clemence Poesy) bringing food to striking workers.
Even though it has nothing really new to say about its none too subtly expressed themes of the randomness of war, there are still things to appreciate about "Birdsong." First, there is Eddie Redmayne which is very important. Then, there is the sensual love affair which works to help illustrate the movie's contrast between peace and war in early 20th century France.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Have read the book, was disappointed with the play, and pleasantly surprised by this. Starring Jack from 'Pillars of the Earth', he excels at intense facial expressions and this was full of it. he is also very good at staring into space. I rekon there's a total of 20 minutes of that. But i feel the depth in his character, so much so that i can even sense the sexual tension between him and Isobel. I can see it developing and is convincing. Running time of nearly 3 hours helps this to happen.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/28/23
Full Review
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